NejixTenten ficlets
by wingedauthoress14
Summary: Chapter 23- a chapter where much is thought about hair.
1. counterparts

Everything in nature has its counterpart. The sun has the moon, the day the night, and summer, the winter. Or that's how Tenten tried to explain it to Neji as they lay on the soft grass underneath a midnight blue sky, puncutred by white hot pinpricks billions upon billions of lightyears away.

"And what about them?" Neji asked, pointing to the heavens. "Do they have counterparts?" Tenten smiled.

"They don't need them- no matter what, they're always there- even in the daytime when the sunlight blocks them." They stayed quiet for a while, listening as the wind whispered its warm breath on them, soothing their aching, tired bodies for the moment.

"What about us?" Neji asked, breaking the silence.

"What _about _us?" the kunoichi murmured, her eyes reflecting the light of the stars. She heard Neji turn towards her, and felt his eyes boring into hers.

"Do we have counterparts too?" the weapon's mistress' eyes widened inquisitively.

"I never really thought about it," she said after contemplating this for a few moments, turning also so she was facing him. The two looked up simultaniously as a shooting star flashed passed them, barely visible, but all the same, caught with a second's glance.

"Did you make a wish?" Tenten asked her teammate. Neji nodded, smiling slightly at her childish belief. Tenten knew what he thought of wishes- childish and immature. She, however, found them to be something so much more- wishes gave people the chance to dream, to keep their hopes alive. That's why she shook her head now at Neji's foolishness.

"You know something?" she spoke tentatively.

"Hn?"

"I think that we're a lot like the stars- seeing as I can't think of counterparts for either- so, then, we must be counterparts of each other, right?" Neji looked at her incredulously.

"So... are you saying that we are counterparts of the stars, or of each other?" Tenten sighed exasperatedly.

"No, I meant- ugh, never mind." She turned her face to look away, but felt Neji's hand on her chin, turning her his way again.

"Tell me what you meant," he said, not quite demanding, but inquisitively, sincere in his manner.

"I just meant that we can be like the stars- since I can't think of counterparts for either. That was all I meant."

"I see," The two sat quietly for a while until Neji broke the silence.

"You're very much like the stars," Tenten looked at him, a questioning look in her brown orbs.

"How?" Neji leaned in, and locked his lips with hers. he pulled away, and looked with amusment at the kunoichi's stunned figure.

"You both shine very brightly,"

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A/N: just a little ficlet i did when i was bored- hope u all liked it! plz review!!!!! 


	2. talking too much

Dark clouds rolled throughout the skies while underneath them, two ninja battled on, unaware of the sudden weather occurance. A clap

of thunder later, and the heavens opened, drenching everything in sight with ice cold tears. In a normal battle, the two would have

fought to the death, but they had become tired due to hours of constant sparring, and decided to take a break.

It was Tenten who suggested they get out of the rain by going to a café not too far from the training grounds. Sopping wet and

exhausted, the Hyuga was in no mood to refuse, so he willingly allowed himself to be dragged into the small coffee shop which was,

surprisingly, uncrowded. The interior was cozy with the comforting smell of coffees and teas being brewed. They picked a

small table near the back, and ordered two herbal teas. When they arrived, the two sat in silence for a moment or so, sipping their

drinks, watching the steam from the liquid rise in spirals and curls, dissipating into the air. Before long, Tenten grew uncomfortable with

the silence, and began to speak. Neji listened intently on what was said, and only replied with a "Hn," or a nod or shake of the head.

A few minutes into the conversation, Tenten noticed that he was concentrating rather hard on his tea, rather than have his eyes cast on

her- which was normally the polite thing to do when someone was trying to make a conversation, but Neji was always different like that;

always listening. She began to think that he was annoyed with her for starting such a cumbersome conversation, and said:

"If I'm talking to much, just let me know, okay?" Neji took his eyes off his drink, giving her a puzzled look, and nodded. Tenten

continued to talk, ignoring that nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach. Suddenly, she saw Neji move forward with an acute speed, and

felt his lips lock onto hers. A split second later, he was back in his seat, a smirk on his face. Tenten was awed, to say the least.

"What… what was that for?" she said, still in shock. Neji's smirk deepened as he replied:

"You were talking too much."

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A/N: i thought instead of creating a whole new story, i'd make a set of little NeijxTenten ficlets- i hope u all liked this one!! 

REVIEWS ARE EXCHANGED FOR COOKIES!!!! (told ya i love 2 bake!) -


	3. predictions and exceptions

A/N: ok, i have a question for everyone who reads this fic: is it just me, or does inspiration knock on your door when you're the most busy? cause i have tried for weeks to come up with new material, and it wasn't until today when i had a HUGE spanish project to do for tomorrow that i got the inspiration to write this little ficlet- maybe inspiration just has it out for me. lol. i'm not complaining tho!! HOPE U LIKE THE STORY!!!

* * *

She had predicted her first kiss to be romantic. She also predicted it to be passionate, loving, and expressive in every way possible. 

What she didn't predict was Hyuga Neji.

Hyuga Neji wasn't romantic, and he also wasn't passionate about anything aside from his hatred for the main house. His eyes weren't ones that held love, nor did they express emotions easily.

However, he made exeptions, and that exception was Tenten.

When he was with her, he would be romantic in the way he talked with her, whispering sweet nothings in her ear. When he was with her, he passionately kissed every square inch of her bare skin he could find- and then some. He loved her more than all the stars in the heavens combined and multiplied by billions, and he expressed this neverending love frequently by saying the four words she wanted to hear most:

"I love you, Tenten,"

And in return, saying the words she knew were truest in her heart:

"I love you too, Neji-kun"

* * *

A/N: sorry for the shortness- i'll try harder on that next time. PLZ REVIEW!!!! 


	4. lullaby

A/N: hi again to all my loved reviewers and people who read this story!!!!! this one's set in the future- after they're both married. hope u all like!!!!! DISCLAIMER: i do not own naruto... i can still dream tho..

* * *

The night was still; quiet like soft whispers of silk ruffling through the wind's gentle breath. The weapon's mistress rolled over onto her side, one eye blinking away the darkness, wondering what had caused this abrupt consciousness.

She did not have long to guess, however, as her suspicions were concluded when her ears were pricked with the faint sounds of crying and fussing coming a little ways down the corridor from the bedroom. Silently, she climbed out of bed and walked down the hall, towards the sound.

She entered into the room, turning on a small lamp that bathed the area in a golden light. Smiling slightly, she crept over to a white crib standing in the middle of the room, and reached her ivory arms over the bars, picking up a small pink bundle whose cries filled the room.

Holding this delicate fortune close to her, she sat down in the wooden rocking chair, gazing lovingly at the tiny creature she had put to breast. When the child was satisfied, the mother began to rock very slowly back and forth, the chair making little noise on the wooden floor.

Quietly, she began singing a soft lullaby; her ode to her own creation. Her voice was smooth, like glass as it encircled the nursery, starting out low, and growing higher as it continued.

When she had finished, she felt a warm pair of hands begin to caress her small shoulders, working their way down her arms. She looked over her shoulder to see her husband's pearl- grey eyes washing over her, a small smile gracing his flawless features that were so much like his daughter's. Tenten smiled as well and leaned in, lightly kissing his perfectly formed lips.

The baby in Tenten's arms gave a little sigh in her slumber reminding her parents of her presence. Neji's smile widened as his arms unlaced themselves from his wife, wrapping firmly about his daughter and put her back in her crib, though not before kissing her forehead affectionately.

Tenten got up wearily from the rocking chair, also kissing their newborn daughter. When they had left the room, Neji picked Tenten up in one graceful swoop, carrying her bridal style back to their room, and laid her gently on their bed. She smiled when Neji lay down with her, whispering into her ear: "Sing to _me_ now"


	5. perfection

"You're not perfect," they were the first words Tenten spoke after their training session had ended. She had turned around to pick up her weapons, but could still feel the deadly gaze of her teammate almost burn through her back like hot coals.

"Excuse me?" until this point, Neji had always thought of himself as the best- or one of the best, at least. He could feel blood pounding in his ears and breathed deeply to restore order to his temper which was already beginning to boil over with the combined heat and exhaustion he was forced to bear. He saw her turn halfway, almost as though afraid to meet his gaze.

"You heard me," Tenten turned back to her weapons, feeling her breath as it became more uneven and constricted. What had pressed her to say it? Could it have been the heat that the sun had ungraciously poured down her back in searing hot rays as the day wore on? Or maybe the sleep she had been blinking away since dawn as she had spent most of the night being kept awake by thoughts of a certain prodigy…

"You think I cannot become the greatest?" his voice was hard and lucid, echoing through the empty clearing, almost shaking under the strain to keep it normal.

"I said you're not perfect," it was with these words spoken in such a harsh tongue that made Neji lash out. Tenten made no move to shield herself from her teammate's wrath, but allowed herself to be roughly shoved into a nearby tree. She heard a sharp pop somewhere in her elbow, and grimaced at the pain that followed. She opened her eyes, and saw his pearl gray orbs, flashing with anger and resentment.

"I will be the greatist shinobi, Tenten! I will overcome fate and the main house, and I can do it without your help if I must!" Gritting her teeth, Tenten could feel her own temper rising inside her, but forced it down bit by bit, and said in a small voice:

"You will be great, Neji. I don't want you to become perfect because it's your imperfections that make you so great." Neji's hold on her loosened, and his eyes became softer as his mind consumed the words that had poured from her mouth like a cool stream of water that refreshed and calmed him. Looking into her eyes, he saw that they had- unwillingly- filled with tears she tried so hard to call back.

"Tenten, I-I didn't mean... I'm sorry..." Tenten's hardened countenance faded along with her anger and tears, like smoke trailing after a dying fire. She gave him a small smile that meant in their own silent language that he was forgiven. Realizing he was still griping her forearms with unnessasary strength, Neji released her. Upon seeing the red marks he had left on her hands in his rush of anger, he felt guilt constrict his insides as he reached to softly touch her arms.

"Sorry about that too," he muttered, eyes downcast.

"Don't worry about it," his teammate replied as she rubbed her elbow which was still quite sore fom its collision with the tree. Eyes still transfixed to her hurt appendage, she didn't notice him reaching for her until she felt him take hold of her arm, gently this time.

"Where does it hurt?" he asked, still examining her arm. She shook her head, and put on a smile that didn't reach her brown orbs.

"It doesn't- I'm fine," at last, his eyes looked upward to hers with a piercing gaze that could see through stone.

"Tenten, you know perfectly well I don't like repeating myself; where does it hurt?" After she still made no reply, the veins in his forehead protruded, his eyesight multiplied a hundredfold. He spotted a pinched nerve in her elbow, trying to ignore that fiery guilt that hissed at him like steam from a furnace. He saw his teammate wince slightly as he began rubbing his fingers against the injury, softly at first, but pushed against it more deeply. Tenten could feel the press of his fingers against her elbow, and the tiny shoot of pain that surged through her arm every time his touches became deeper in her skin. She could also feel a blush tingling at her cheeks as she tried furiously to force it back. Suddenly, she heard a little click from her elbow and felt the rush of endorphins, cascading with relief through her bruised arm. Neji's Byakugan deactivated, and he asked her:

"Better?" she nodded thankfully, finally meeting his eyes which were full of apology.

"Thanks," she turned to get her bag and begin walking home, but faced him before heading off, "and Neji?"

"Hn?"

"You're the best," her eyes sparkled in the dying rays of the setting sun as she waved goodbye, leaving Neji to ponder the two meanings of what she had said.

A/N: well i hope you all liked it- lately i think i've been loosing my touch with my stories... i dunno- what do you guys think? maybe i've just been trying too hard... need something more simple... anyways, i g2g!!!!! lovers you all!!! plz review!!!!!


	6. chocolate kisses

Tenten was not one to normally wear lipstick- especially not in such a dark color, and it didn't look like a bruise either, so what was it? Neji pondered as he contemplated a creamy brown smudge on his teammate's lower lip. Tenten turned to find her usually stoic teammate looking at her strangely, and decided to comment.

"Neji? What are you looking at?" the stoic one caught himself off guard, and hastily scrambled to come up with a decent excuse in ample time.

"Nothing- just thinking," he said quickly. He mentally slapped himself for such an answer, thinking that he would pay dearly if she got the wrong impression.

_He was staring at me and…thinking? Thinking about what?_ Tenten thought as two possibilities clicked in her mind's eye, and one word blared above the rest …_pervert…_ In the blink of an eye, he found the weapon's mistress in front of him, her fist grinding itself into the prodigy's (until now) flawless countenance as he flew backward, unsuspecting, onto the hard ground.

"What was that for?!" Neji yelled, sporting a bloody nose which he clutched in his fingers.

"Perv!" his teammate shouted back, only just loud enough for the village to hear.

"What are you talking about?" Neji asked, raising himself up, dabbing at his bleeding nose with a piece of his shirt.

"You were staring at me, and said you were THINKING! I never thought I'd see the day, Neji!" she angrily grabbed her bag, and began to walk away until she felt a hand grip her shoulder, and turned her around.

"Neji, what the h-" her words were cut off as Neji shoved his lips onto hers, his tongue searching out the spot he saw on the corner of her lips that had caused him so much trouble today, and licked it off, a sweet chocolaty taste touching his tongue, and stopped only when she began to return the kiss.

"You had chocolate on the corner of your mouth," he said smugly upon seeing the stunned look on Tenten's face. He walked back to the training grounds alone until Tenten regained her composure, saying:

"Hey- wait, Neji? You could have just told me- NEJI!!!" she yelled, running after him.

Behind her, two green clad shinobi were grinning in the underbrush at the scene that had just unfolded in front of them.

"Lee- well done putting those chocolates where Tenten could find them!"

"Yosh! Thank you, Gai-sensei! It was worth it to see my teammates in full blossom of youthful love!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

A hug, throw in some waves, ocean sounds, and a sunset, and you have reached the end of another fic! Hope you enjoyed!!!


	7. Sick

Rain hammered down from the onyx heavens in sheets of cold rain, driven by icy wind, echoing its fury upon the land. Leaves and other minor debris scattered the airstreams, and were strewn conspicuously. Surely no one would think of going out in a storm like this.

Wrong.

Despite the freezing rain and bitter winds, the Hyuga prodigy could be seen training, the blue of his chakra lost in the gusts of frigid wind that cut his face like shards of ice. Usually, one could see him sparring with a certain bun- haired kunoichi; however, she was nowhere to be seen. She had refused hands down to go outside to train, upon seeing the drenched Hyuga at her doorstep earlier that day. Hearing this, the prodigy turned tail and went off to train by himself. As the swirl of cold and rain whirled around him, he noticed what a difference there was without his weapon's mistresses' smile to brighten up the day.

Later that night, after he had gone inside, Neji found himself rather tired, and achy, the world around him warm and clouded. He excused himself from the dinner table early, followed by the smallest of worried looks from his introverted cousin, Hinata. He noticed, and was inwardly thankful and pleased that she would worry about him. Feet slow and heavy, he finally made it to his bedroom and fell, fully dressed and exhausted on his bed, breathing in the light smell of lilac and fresh cotton that arose from the sheets and numbed his senses, lulling him into a deep slumber.

Meanwhile, Hinata had finished with her dinner early as well and excused herself from the table. She turned down the long, dark hallways of the Hyuga manor that would have been a confusing maze, had she not grown up in the place. Her bare feet were cold on the ground as she rounded a corner that lead to the cadet house's rooms. She was extremely careful not to make a sound when she ventured into this part of the house; her father still did not permit the main and the cadet branches to mingle. As she ventured, her thoughts turned to her cousin.

She had noticed from the moment he walked in from training, his pale countenance and worn pallor, and became suddenly all the more anxious about his well being. When she had reached his room, she knocked on the door, expecting at least a "Hn," but she listened, and heard nothing. She knocked again, louder this time and pressed her ear against the wooden door, still unable to tell if he was okay. Hesitantly, she grasped the door handle, sliding the wooden barrier along its silvery rail to see Neji asleep on his futon, shivering.

"N-Neji- Nissan? Are you okay?" the whispered words were not enough to rouse the sleeping prodigy. Hinata kneeled at the side of his futon, pressing her hand to his forehead and cheeks which emanated heat like hot metal. Hinata gasped and started to panic- surely he was running a high fever, but if she told her father, he would know she was in the cadet house, and that would earn her some loathful punishment… she thought for a few moments, then suddenly, it came to her! It was risky, but it just might work…

The weapon's mistress hummed to a song playing on her ipod as she carefully shinned a new weapon she had just bought. A fire that was merrily crackling in the fireplace and the pouring rain coming from the dark outside would have made for a very cozy scene. However, Tenten's mind was far from the cozy interior of her home, and cast out into the darkness where her teammate could still be sparring.

_I probably should have gone with him… I feel so guilty now- ugh! why does he do these things to me?_ These thoughts whirred around in her head along with the lyrics she was listening to.

**I can take the rain on the roof of this empty house  
That don't bother me  
I can take a few tears now and then and just let them out  
I'm not afraid to cry every once in a while  
Even though going on with you gone still upsets me  
There are days every now and again I pretend I'm ok  
But that's not what gets me…**

Thunder shook the air, and made her jump, the earphones pulling out of her ear. As she struggled to untangle them, her phone rang and she went to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Tenten-chan? It's Hinata," Tenten's insides squirmed- was this call about Neji?

"Hey Hinata-chan! What's up?" she said, trying to make her voice sound as normal as possible.

"A-ano… it's nii-san… I think he's sick, and I can't tell fatherorelseI'dgetinsuchhugetrouble-"

"Whoa- okay Hinata, first thing's first: shut up," Tenten could almost see Hinata fingering the phone cord in anxiety, "secondly: how did Neji get sick? Was it training in the rain?"

"A-ano… I think so… would it be too much to ask-"

"I'll be right over," Tenten said, cutting her off and smiling. She heard a small sigh of relief escape the Hyuga heiresse's lips.

"Arigato, Tenten-chan," but she was speaking to no one as the dial tone rang in her ear and a bun haired kunoichi ran out into the night.

A knock sounded on the back door of the Hyuga house; it was a good thing Neji had taught her the ins and outs of his family's house before- otherwise her cover would be completely blown. The door opened, unleashing a flood of warm air from the dry building into the rain- soaked air. Tenten looked up from under her hoodie to see two white Hyuga eyes smiling at her, and she smiled as well as she recognized the eye's keepers.

"Hi Hinata! I'm sorry I couldn't have been here faster," she stepped inside, removing the hood from her head, blinking in the dimness of the corridor.

"Don't be- I'm thankful you could come at all," she felt Hinata grasp her hand, and begin to pull her toward's Neji's room.

"Thank you so much for what you're doing, Tenten-chan. I would do it myself but father…" her voice faded, but Tenten could still feel the anxiety brewing beneath the silence. They reached his room, and opened the door, sliding it closed behind them. Tenten's heart clenched at what she saw- Neji lying face up on his futon, his breathing shallow, a faint blush kissing at his cheeks. She went over to him and pressed her hand against his forehead, feeling an intense heat. Her brow furrowed: if his fever was too high, she'd have to take him to the hospital but if she dared hope it wasn't that high, he could stay here and sleep it off.

"We need to wake him up to take his temperature- do you have a thermometer?" Tenten turned around to ask Hinata, and was presented with an electric thermometer moments later.

"Arigato," she said, smiling as she was handed the device. Now came the hard part. She shook Neji's shoulder to try to wake him up, but he still didn't arouse from his feverish slumber.

"Neji? Neji? Come on now… you need to wake up just for a second," She whispered in his ear as she shook his shoulders again. Thankfully, his dreary eyes opened, clouded with fever.

"T-Ten…ten?" he whispered back hoarsely. "What… are you…"

"Shhh now… just open your mouth and we'll see how hot you are- I mean- uh… how warm you are," he did not appear to have heard the last bit and she silently thanked his drowsiness for that. The thermometer lay under his tongue for a few moments while Hinata figited in anxious silence. Tenten noticed this and said:

"Don't worry Hinata- I'm sure his fever's not that bad," she tried to convince herself this as much as Hinata. Suddenly, the thermometer beeped, and Neji's eyes snapped open at the sharp sound. Tenten took it out of his mouth and read the temperature:

**102.2****˚ **Sighing thankfully, she cleared the screen and told Hinata what his temperature was.

"Is that… bad?" the Hyuga Heiress asked hesitantly, and was relieved when Tenten gave her a small smile.

"No- it just means I might need to stay overnight to see that he gets better, but at least he doesn't have to go to the hospital," Hinata nodded, and put her finger to her lip; an age-old habit of hers.

"A-ano… I'll get you something warm and dry to sleep in- you might get sick too if you stay in those wet clothes." Tenten smiled gratefully at her best friend, accepting the offer and also asking for some medicine Neji would take when he awoke again. Hinata nodded, and dissapeared for a few minutes to gather the belongings.

While she was gone, Tenten noticed that Neji had fallen asleep again, his usual pale cheeks tinted with a feverish glow, his breath, coming out in hot sighs that riffled through the still room the sound broken only by the raindrops still cascading from their dark home in the sky. Tenten brushed aside a stray hair that lingered on his face, and leaned closer to him, stopping as she heard Hinata returning from her 'trip'.

"Thanks Hinata- these are great," she said, unfolding a midnight blue tank top with silver stars and black sweat pants.

"Here's the medicine- did I get the right kind?" Hinata held a bottle up to Tenten.

"Yeah, that's perfect Hinata-chan," she replied, smiling.

"A-ano…I need to be in bed right now, but if you need me then please text me- I'll have my phone on." Tenten nodded, and said:

"Okay- I'll have mine on too. Night Hinata-chan!"

"Goodnight Tenten-chan! If anyone can make nii-san better, it's you," She closed the door silently behind her leaving Tenten to ponder what she had said. The rest of the night, Tenten stayed by Neji's side occasionally waking him up to take his temperature or to give him some water or medicine. By two in the morning, Tenten was exhausted but relieved. The thermometer held in her hand as she fell asleep read: **98.6****˚**

The next morning shone bright and cloudless, birds chirping their 'good morning' to anyone in the vicinity, bathing in the puddles left by the night's rain. Neji woke up, feeling a pressure on his bed, and looked over, astounded at the sight of the kunoichi whose arms and head rested on the futon, complete with a thermometer that read his temperature.

He stayed completely still so as not to wake her; it was evident to see that she had spent most of the night awake as there were dark circles under her eyes, hair in mussed buns, and a countenance was that of one that had an energy drain. In her sleep, she mumbled something unclear. Neji smiled softly, and bent closer to her, hoping she would say it again.

"Neji…get… better… soon…if you don't… I'll kill… you…" she lapsed into a silent slumber once again, not seeing the priceless expression that adorned the Hyuga's face- a cross way between humor, pity, and confusion. He let out a small chuckle, thinking a noise so minor couldn't possibly awaken the kunoichi.

Nope.

Tenten's eyes fluttered open at the sound, thinking it had just been a dream- surely even if Neji was awake and well, he wouldn't have- her thoughts stopped abruptly as their eyes met. She smiled at him, and said:

"Feeling better, now are we?" Neji, whose face had been blank since he saw her eyes open simply shrugged, but could not help notice that his teammate had a blush framing her usually ivory cheeks. Frowing, he put a hand to her forehead and felt her warm skin against his.

"You're feeling a bit warm, you know. I'm afraid you might have caught what I had," Tenten scowled at him.

"I do not- and if I do then it's all your fault. You shouldn't have been training outside when it was pouring- I mean, seriously? What kind of idiot does that?" She locked eyes with the now ticked genius, and smirked. "Well, I guess there is such a thing as a stupid genius then..." her voice, thick with sleepiness and fever, suddenly alarming him. He looked sternly at her, and said:

"Stop that, Tenten. How warm are you?" he picked the thermometer out of her hot hand, and as she opened her mouth to speak, stuck it under her tongue.

"Mmmm!!!! hmmhphmhphph!!!" Tenten hmmmmed, upset at being caught unawares and have this thermometer rudely shoved under her tongue... the same on Neji had used in fact... Tenten thought of this with a mixture of grossness and sick giddiness. The device beeped just as it had done with Neji in those nightly hours, and it showed a temperature equal to his from the previous night.

"That can't be good..." Tenten sighed as the slid down until she was completely laying on the floor. Neji rolled his eyes, and got out of bed, picking her up, amazed at how light she was but a bit worried at how warm her skin felt to him. He set her down on his bed, watching her eyes contract, as though in pain.

"What hurts?" he asked her, pulling the covers over her shivering body.

"Everything..." she replied drowsily. Neji painfully recalled how achy he had felt as well the night before and an inkling of pity rushed to his teammate.

"Get some sleep- I'll see if Hinata-" the ringing of Tenten's phone cut him off as a text message appeared on the screen, saying:

_Tenten- im coming down now. c u in a bit!  
-hina_

Neji sighed in relief- Hinata would know what to do. As said, a few mintues later, a knock came from outside the door. Neji answered with his usual "Hn?" Hinata opened the door to see a scene completely opposite from what she had left the night before- now it was Tenten sick, and Neji healthy. Hinata tried her hardest to keep a straight face in front of her serious cousin.

"D-don't tell me, nii-san... she got w-what you got?" Neji nodded, and asked her what he should do to make her better.

"A-ano, she gave you two tablets of that medicine last night- that should be enough for her, and make sure she has enough fluids- oh, and check her temperature often. Should I tell your sensei that you're neither of you will be there today?" Neji nodded, thanking her. Hinata smiled, and walked out. He turned back to his bed to find Tenten staring at him, fever now spreading across her eyes, clouding them.

"Since you're awake- do you mind telling me why you were here last night?" Tenten closed her eyes, and said:

"Hinata said you were sick, and I was feeling guilty," Neji's eyes narrowed.

"Why were you feeling guilty? You didn't do anything-"

"Yeah, I did, actually. I felt like I abandoned you or something... when you were training all by yourself 'cause normally... I want to train with you... but yesterday... I think the weather's odds were against us..." they both stayed quiet for a few minutes until Tenten began to breathe more deeply, and Neji knew she must have fallen asleep. And just as she had done, he watched over her with an eagle's eye, waking her up periodically to take medicine or her temperature, but most of the time, he would let her sleep, sometimes brushing away a stray hair or two that had fallen out when he undid her hair so she could rest more comfortably.

By the end of the day, Tenten had woken up, feverless just as Neji had done, only faster. She told him that since they were both better, she'd finally be able to beat him in a spar. He smirked and said that the only thing she had beaten him in was getting better which ultimately led to a smack in the head from the angry kunoichi. The two got to the training grounds to find them strangely deserted with no green-clad shinobi about. The two stood there in silence for a few moments contemplating- where had they're team gone? Suddenly, a green flash was speeding towards them, shouting their names.

"NEJI!!"

"TENTEN!"

"LEE, SHUT UP!" both ninja screamed as Lee scampered to a stop in front of them, smiling his pingy smile.

"And it was so nice and quiet..." Neji muttered under his breath while Tenten asked Lee what on earth he was screaming about.

"What I was... oh yes! Gai- sensei is sick with a fever, and it is our youthful mission to attend to him dutifully!!"

Neji: 0-0

Tenten: 0-0

**_END_**

A/N: wow- bet u guys are glad that's over! whew! i think that's the longest one-shot i've done yet! i hope it was good! it was requested by Sasukes-girl08 so thank you very much for the request! PLZ REVIEW!!! YOU GUYS KNOW I LOVE READING UR COMMENTS!!!

DISCLAIMER!!!: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO CHARACTERS, OR THE SONG WHAT HURTS THE MOST BY RATTLESNAKE FLATS!!! HAPPY NOW??? GOOD!! HAVE A COOKIE!!!!


	8. glomping lessons

The sun was beginning to set, its rays combing through the scattered clouds that had gathered through the day, insignias molding into one another, commencing the darkness that was to follow. Neji sat under the shade of a small sakura tree, its blossoms still fresh from the springtime even though it was midsummer.

His teammate and best friend, Tenten was a little ways away, packing the weapons that had scattered during their many hours of sparring. She finished packing, and sat beside Neji to watch the sunset- the sun's bloody rays hugging the mountainside, and the golden orb itself glowing just above the horizon.

Tenten looked wistfully at the scene in front of her, and sighed. Neji ignored her- or at least, pretended to. She knows to not disturb him when he's meditating. She sighed again, however, louder this time as though determined to get his attention whether it was going to drive him out of meditation or not. He shot her an irritated look out of the corner of his eye. Clearly enjoying the sport, Tenten sighed again as loudly and exasperatingly as she could. This time, Neji's eyes snapped open with the velocity of a lightning bolt, flames shooting from his white orbs.

"What?" he snapped. Pleased with herself at having finally gotten his attention, Tenten said:

"Neji, it's summer- don't you ever want to stop training, and just do something normal?" Neji gazed at her, his fury melting into puzzlement.

"But we're ninja- what could be more normal than training?" Tenten looked at him incredulously.

"Hyuga Neji, have you ever done anything amusing, EVER?" Neji thought for a minute then said:

"Hn. What could you possibly do that's more fun than training?" Tenten put her finger to her lip, thinking- a habit she had picked up from Hinata. It wasn't bad- in fact; it made her look sort of cute. Neji thought as Tenten came out of her revere, and turned to her teammate, a wide smile gracing her countenance.

"Weeeeellll… glomping is rather fun." This time, Neji was the one who looked incredulous.

"What on earth is that?"

"What? You've never heard of glomping? You're joking, right?" The look on her face was nothing short of disbelieving as he slowly shook his head no. With a cheery smile adorning her face again, she got up and said:

"Well then, I'll just have to teach you! Look at this- I got it in one of those chain letter things in my e-mail…" as she spoke, she pulled out a piece of paper that was folded over four times. She unfolded it and handed it to Neji, whose countenance became more dubious as his eyes scrolled down the parchment.

Idiot's Guide to Glomping

Step 1: pick a friend

Step 2: sneak quietly behind them so that your presence is undetected

Step 3: get closer to said victim

Step 4: once you are close enough, pounce the victim

Step 5: hug him/her while tackling them to the ground

WARNING: be cautious about performing this if you are heavier than your friend because then you would end up with a squished buddy.

"Tenten, I don't think-"Neji looked up, and saw that the weapon's mistress was nowhere in sight. Rolling his eyes, he said clearly:

"Whatever you're planning, it won't work- I have a bloodline limit if you forgot," he said this as he activated his infamous trait, the veins on his forehead protruding around his eyes. He scanned the area with an eagle's eye, but could find nothing. Puzzled, wondering where she could have gone to, Neji deactivated his Byakugan.

Up above him, hidden behind the tree-laced branches were two chocolate brown eyes sparkling with anticipation and cunning. They were still for a moment, then gone. Suddenly, Neji felt a force knock him to the ground, two arms grasping him, their keeper laughing hysterically as the both landed on the dusty training grounds. They rolled over on top of one another, stopping with Neji on top of Tenten who was still in the rolls of her laughing fits. She quieted down upon seeing the look in his eyes and feeling the closeness of their bodies.

"What- was- that- for?" Neji seethed, furious about being caught off- guard. The kunoichi underneath him gave him a small, angelic smile and said:

"You need to have some fun- you're too serious," upon seeing the look of frigidness upon his face, she added "I think you liked it," his face grew more ice cold as he said sternly:

"Who would enjoy something like that?," he said, their faces still inches apart. Tenten laughed lightly.

"Someone who needs more fun in their life- that's who."

"You're impossible,"

"Yeah, well, you're no fun," Neji rolled his eyes again, trying to ignore that happy feeling plucking at him whenever he saw Tenten's smile. Tenten then said: "You know what, Neji? I bet you're so not fun that you can't think of one thing that's amusing," Neji smirked and said:

"Oh really?"

"Yeah!"

"What about this?" Neji closed the gap between the both of them, their lips clashing against each other. They broke apart and looked at each other. Neji cocked an eyebrow at her, and Tenten, panting slightly from shock, said:

"Yeah- I-I'd have to say that was pretty amusing," Neji smirked as they leaned in again.

This summer was going to be a lot of fun.

* * *

A/N: hi everybody!!! it's amazing- i have two tests coming up and finals to prepare for, but the only things i could think about were fanfictions and summer- surprise, surprise lol. anyways, hope u guys liked this one! oO DISCLAIMER!!! I OWN NO NARUTO CHARACTERS! don't rub it in! lol. review plz! 


	9. off day

A/N: hey everybody!! sorry it took me so uber long to update- it's kinda a long story and i don't wanna bore u with it so yea... oo yea- this is dedicated to one of my best buds francis whose wisdom with computers can come in very handy- thanks so much francis!!!

DISCLAIMER: me: say it Neji!!

Neji: no.

me: aw- come on! you said you would!

Hinata: i think i know a way -pulls out Neji's diary-

Neji: NEJI'S FANGIRL DOESN'T OWN NARUTO HOWEVER MUCH SHE WISHES TO!

Hinata/me: good boy!

Neji: you're both EVIL!!!

me/Hinata: yea- we know. we enjoy it

All: ENJOY THE STORY!!!

* * *

The dawn of another day arose, cloudless and bright. The remnants of the sunrise; a shock of pink that bordered the horizon and the dark blue of the night skies that began to fade away as the world woke up again.

The training grounds were foggy and chilly, awaiting the sun's orders to become hot and humid. Amidst the fog and nippy air stood four figures, one twirling something in the form of a sharp object between fingers, one sitting down by the base of a tree, another doing jumping jacks, and finally, the tallest of the three who began to speak.

"All right my youthful students! This morning is the beginning of another youthful day of training- use the precious time wisely to train your hardest!"

"Hai, Gai- sensei!" the personage doing the jumping jacks shouted exuberantly. The individuals either sitting down or standing up merely nodded, the standing one never stopping the constant twirling of the pointy figure.

"Since we worked on calisthenics yesterday, I thought that today would be a good day to practice a youthful session of weaponry," the tall one christened Maito Gai looked to the bun-haired figure whose lithe fingers nimbly swished the kunai with liquid motion. A smile of enthusiasm adorned her porcelain visage upon hearing this announcement.

"Sounds like fun," she murmured, the proud tones of her voice masked by a veil of modesty only one such as the Hyuga could see through.

"Yosh! That's the spirit, Tenten!" Gai shouted, his voice reverberating throughout the clearing. The individual sitting on the ground grunted in clear annoyance as the weapon's mistress shot him a smile, and got up, brushing the seat of his pants for clinging blades of grass or dirt. "Why don't you go first, Tenten and show us how it's really done!" Tenten smiled at her sensei, her fingers stopping in mid course, making the kunai come to a halt. She took a stance several feet from a selected target, and took a deep breath, waiting for concentration to set in. The problem was, it never did. She exhaled slowly, trying to ignore a tense feeling coming from the far corners of her mind. Shaking her head, she readied her weapon again, eyebrows knitting in confusion at this feeling that had never before intruded upon something that came so naturally to her.

"Tenten? Is everything all right?" Gai asked upon seeing her stalling. Tenten turned halfway and smiled half- heartedly.

"Hai, I um… just need to get focused…" she turned back to the target, hoping, praying as fervently as she could that she wouldn't mess this one up. Both of her teammates could sense her nerves and wondered what on earth could have been the matter. Against her better instincts, the weapon's mistress closed her eyes, her breathing constricted by some unknown force. The muscles in her arm and shoulder moved, her hand releasing the kunai. A thud was heard, and Tenten opened her eyes to see the incredible.

She had missed.

The shock of everyone present clanged and clamored the air like bells; even the Hyuga raised half an eyebrow at the wonder he had just witnessed. Distress set upon Tenten like a shadow as her mind struggled to grasp what had happened. Gai went over to her, put a hand on her shoulder, looking her square in the eyes, and asked her in a low voice:

"Tenten, is everything okay?" Tenten, now frozen from bewilderment and mind-numbing disbelief, nodded and walked over to the target, pulling the kunai out of the wood.

"May I please try again, sensei?" she asked hesitantly. Gai nodded, smiling at her determination. Again, she took her stance, and again, the muscles in her arm and shoulder tensed. Again she released the weapon, and again she missed. Without waiting for permission again, she yanked the weapon out of the wood, and threw it again. Repetitively she threw, and repetitively she missed. By midday, the target was scarred so badly in all the wrong places- the places that showed where an amateur could do better. Dejected, she threw herself down on the grass, muscles burning, the humidity clouding her lungs which were already heaving for oxygen. In her frustration, she had not noticed where her teammates had gone too. Looking around, she spotted Neji picking up several shuriken, and, a ways away, Lee and Gai dodging and throwing weapons at super fast pace.

"Hn," Tenten, coming out of her reverie, looked up and saw Neji, setting the shuriken by a tree and joining her on the ground, opening a bottle of water as he did so. Silently, he offered her a sip, and silently, she declined. Biting her lip, she felt she had to explain for what happened during the morning, but was too ashamed to do so. But, before she could say anything, Neji interrupted her thoughts by voicing them in his own stoic way.

"What happened this morning?" the frustration, anger, and every other bitter feeling she had been storing within her all morning now flowed loose, as though Neji's words were the rushing waters that broke through a dam.

"I don't know! This never happened to me before- you know me, and you know that I never miss! Why did I miss today? What's wrong with me?" Tears unwillingly began to form at the corners of her eyes. Neji looked sharply at her, and said:

"None of that now, please," Tenten sniffed and thought to herself how Neji could be so heartless. She let out a deep breath she hadn't realized she had been holding in, and turned to look at her teammate who was eyeing her with a mixed expression of pity and impatience.

"There's nothing wrong with you- you're just having an off- day. Everyone has them now and again," fury once again welled up unexpectedly inside Tenten like a coiling snake.

"What would you know about having an off- day? You're Hyuga Neji; off- days for you don't exist!" Neji narrowed his eyes at her.

"Of course they exist- what, do you think all Hyuga's are a bunch of immortal gods?" Tenten raised her eyebrows and looked away, deciding it would be best not to comment. Neji took the hint and got up, yanking her along with him by her forearm.

"If you're really that upset about it, then let me help you," he said, picking up a kunai. Tenten nodded thankfully, but a bit shocked that he would be doing this for her. Smirking, he threw her the kunai and told her to get in her regular stance. Once she did that, Neji looked at her for a bit, then went behind her, putting his arms on hers.

"Your arms are too spread out- if you put them closer to your body like this-" he moved her arms toward her, both blushing as he did so. "Good, now pretend you're about to throw the kunai." Tenten pulled her arm back, tensing every muscle from her shoulder down to the very tips of her fingers. Neji shook his head, disapprovingly.

"What now?" she asked, impatiently. Neji narrowed his eyes, and upon seeing this, rolled her chocolate brown orbs.

"You're arm is too tense, you need to relax," Tenten found this extremely hard to do at the moment as her mind was preoccupied with the fact that Neji's body was parallel with hers. Unexpectedly, Neji's mouth moved closer to her ear, and whispered: "relax" Tenten took a deep breath as shivers of pleasure raced up and down her spine, and, with extreme effort, relaxed the muscles in her arm. Neji grasped her hand now, pulling her arm back. Silently, he stepped away while Tenten closed her eyes, not wanting to admit another failure after so many that day. She threw it, and a dull thud was heard. To her surprise, Tenten opened her eyes to see a bulls- eye. She turned her head to look at Neji, her eyes full of wonder and surprise.

"How did you know?" she asked him, puzzlement becoming assorted in her other emotions at the moment.

"It's not hard since I watch you practice your throwing when you come here early in the morning," he walked away, smirking at his own victory that day.

END


	10. suicide missions part 1

It was probably her last mission as an ANBU warrior. Her breath shook as she inhaled, and her porcelain hands clutched her dragon- imprinted mask with shaking palms. The reason she had come early was to warm up, as she had to leave within a few hours, yet the shadows on the training grounds depicted her caricature still.

Her mission took place the minute the sun set; at the moment, it was still well above the horizon, enough to make the clouds flush with vivid pink, and the trees glint, flashing with golden light. She had known for three days, and had not told him anything.

Maybe it was fear- fear that if she confessed her anxieties, that they'd somehow, turn into reality. Maybe it was pride- if she was scared, he didn't need to know; she didn't need him worrying about her. A bitter smirk that rivaled his glimmered onto her lips. Of course he wouldn't worry about her- he was the prodigy after all; only looking out for himself.

Yet, as these thoughts coursed through her mind, she knew in her heart that they weren't true. He had proven on numerous occasions that she meant something to him; something to risk his life for, to care about, even. Suddenly, her eyes grew wide, and her head snapped up in surprise.

"You're still here then?" the kunoichi turned to see the pale- eyed ice burg of the Hyuga clan walking toward her, arms folded on his muscular chest. Looking away from him, she replied:

"My mission starts when the sun goes down," though her reply was steady, her blood raced through her ear canals making the silence seem as loud as thunder. Try as she might conceal it, she felt herself flush red, blessing the sun as its rays hit her face at such an angle that concealed it- for the moment, at least. To halt an awkward silence between them that was sure to make itself known, she asked him:

"How'd you know about my mission anyways? I never told anyone, and it's supposed to be a sui- um… solo mission," she was thankful she had caught herself in time; almost having said 'suicide' would lead to a conversation that would make her in more favor of the awkward silences. She saw his eyes narrow in the bloodred light of the sunset.

"Don't conceal it from me anymore, Tenten. I already know that it's a suicide mission. That's why I came to see you before you left," tears that were as fresh as morning dew had stung their ways into her brown orbs before she could call them back. The prodigy stepped closer, and put a hand to her chin, making chocolate brown orbs clash with ivory white.

"Neji, I…" she tried to grip for the words she longed to say, but found that her voice was constricted with emotion. He pulled her towards him, so her head rested on his chest. Her tears released themselves from their chocolate gates, and onto the man she was leaning on. It was as though every worry, and anxiety that had pierced her heart was being let out; he was her outlet, the one she needed in times like these. The sun's rays were dancing upon the mountinous horizon as she looked up again, their faces inches apart.

"If you don't come back, I'll go looking for you," he whispered into her ear. Despite her departure into the night, she seemed relieved, even calm now.

"I'll be fine," she smiled confidently, "but thank you," with that, she gave him a swift, hard kiss on the lips, stepped away, pulling her mask on, and flew off just as the sun's rays dissapeared along with his lover. Neji's eyes narrowed in the now present darkness before leaping into the foliage after her.

**End... for now**

* * *

A/N: yea... i know- these are supposed to be ficlets, not chapter stories but plz forgive my lack of detail on my part. i found this story somewhere and just decided to post it and hope u guys like it. i'll try not to make it too angsty at the end just cause i love you guys so much and don't want my story to make you sad but yea... um... if u don't want me to make another chapter for this, plz tell me and i won't bore u with it and leave it as is. so plz review my darlings!!!!! u know how happy it makes me: ) 


	11. suicide missions part 2

Tension filled the air as the weapon's mistress traveled through the night. So great was this ill feeling that it felt as though one sound could snap the night in two. The heavens above sparkled, their pinpricks of light flickering as though they too were feeling the hostility that lay in the atmosphere. Cold bit at Tenten's nose and cheeks as her chakra powered legs pressed her through the darkness. Her stomach twisted and coiled like a snake about to strike and her movements grew rigid with anxiety. Attempting to steady her ferocious heartbeat, she inhaled deeply, frigid air rushing into her lungs as they expanded. Shuddering, she pressed on, still more quickly to her destination, possibly her final resting place. As she jumped from one tree limb to the next, she failed to sense another shadowy presence following closely behind her.

She knew she had arrived at said destination as lights from fires lit ahead. She approached an immense castle, and stared up at it in awe. Her mission was simple but deadly; kill a daiyamo who had been brutally torturing his people ever since he had gotten his gift of power a few months ago. If she could manage to kill him without raising an alarm throughout the castle, she might get through this alive. This ruler was widely known for his amazing defensive strategy. Tsunade had obviously thought long and hard about who best to send, and Tenten, the expert on weapons that she was, surely was most suitable for the job. Taking a deep breath, Tenten jumped up, and infiltrated the domain, landing on the terrace. Back on the ground, unseen and crouched in the bushes; a pair of pearl white eyes blinked and vanished as well.

Once inside the stone walls, Tenten began to figure her way to the main place- where he ought to have been, unknowingly awaiting her lethal attack. As she wandered through the dark stone halls, she was careful not to touch them, afraid she would spring a trap. The walls to her right, the outer walls, had slits in them, creating shafts of moonlight, which were a blessing but also not able to produce enough light to see intricate things such as wires or well hidden explosive tags. Her heart pounded so loudly, she could have sworn to hear its beats echoing behind her, but she didn't dwell on that for long as the passageway turned into a dead end. Cursing, she turned around only to trip over what felt like very thin wire. Catching herself, she caught glimpses of flashing silver, shooting their way towards her. Upon realizing what they were, Tenten sprang up and began sprinting down the corridor. She managed to evade most of the artillery, but not without sustaining some scratches and cuts that ran along her forearms like red cracks in her porcelain skin. Cursing her clumsiness, she began to move forward again.

This time, the corridor she had taken led to light, revealing a cold stone floor and walls. Hesitantly and with great care, she pressed herself to the wall and looked in the direction the light was coming from. Dimly, she could see the daiyamo himself, seated upon his high throne, casting displeased looks to various people in the courtroom. Tenten grimaced at the sight; surely he would be a joy to kill. The air he held about him was superior, his face taut and lined with the stress of running a falling kingdom. His eyes were a truly fearsome sight; though Tenten could not see him directly, she could see that he had eyes that resembled deep, dark wells that, if stared too long into, would become a point of no return. Silently, she placed two explosive tags onto the walls which had a special powder in them that would cast a sleeping powder around the room and incapacitate anybody who would get in her way. Trying to figure out how to get in, Tenten looked about the parts of the courtroom she could see and, with a jolt of excitement, saw a type of vent some few feet on the wall, above the daiyamo's table. _Now, how to get up there…_ Tenten thought to herself and froze as she heard a small noise from her right. It sounded as though a pebble had been thrown onto the floor. Going against her instincts, she followed from where the noise had come from and looked up, finding a vent very like the one she had seen in the daiyamo's courtroom.

Using her chakra to hold onto the wall, she lifted the iron rods out of their place and climbed inside. It was a rather tight fit, but, getting on her stomach and inching her way in, Tenten had no problem from there. Once fully inside the walls of the castle, Tenten had to rely purely on her ears and touch. After taking a few turns and, with difficulty, back tracking from a dead end, she finally came to the vent she had seen in the courtroom. Her breath had become shaky, her heart, pounding more furiously as though trying to get all of it's beats out before her last breath. _Well… here goes nothing… _even her thoughts were a wreck… closing her eyes, she thought of the only thing she knew would calm her down. She imagined great white orbs, staring into hers. She imagined two warm arms holding her protectively, and the hands massaging her lovingly, as though saying in their own unspoken language _you're safe here… don't worry about anything else…_ those words… those were words spoken in Neji's voice… the voice she would probably never hear again. Tears of emotion began to flow unchecked down Tenten's cheeks and, upon feeling the wetness, opened her eyes again and wiped them away. Slowly and silently, she pulled the bars out of the vent and plunged into the golden light that flooded the hall.

Right on time, the explosive tags went off and a white powder was strewn about the room. Grimacing, Tenten pulled up her mask so that it covered her mouth and nose, watching as everyone in the room fell to the spell of the fine particles. With complete accuracy, she flung three kunai which met the daiyamo's heart with deadly, sickening thunks. Suddenly, she could sense an enormous amount of chakra coming from behind her, but didn't turn quickly enough; the flash of a sword and a pained grunt from Tenten a split second later, another ninja, it transpired had entered the room. He also had a mask covering his mouth and nose from the sleeping powder. He raised his sword, now shining red from Tenten's blood, and brought it down upon her. Jumping up and clutching her shoulder, she avoided the hit. Pulling out three kunai, she aimed them at him with deadly accuracy. He leapt out of the way only to turn his head the other way with the cry of "Jyuuken!". Tenten also turned to see Neji, pummeling the other nin with the 64 strikes. Stunned, Tenten went up to him and, after the ninja had passed out, said:

"Neji, what- what on earth are you-"

"Do you remember what I said when you left?" Neji's eyes bore into hers as their gaze held her own brown orbs.

"Yes, but that was no reason- wait, you _followed_ me all the way out here? Do you realize how reckless that was? You could have been killed!" Neji's eyes narrowed, becoming half moons.

"I would rather risk my life for you than wondering when you would come back. You should know me better than that, Tenten," the weapon's mistress lowered her gaze to the floor, focusing on a single piece of wall that had shattered. A warm hand touched her shoulder and connected with the injury the enemy ninja had given her.

"You're hurt," he said in his monotone. Around them were groans of people becoming aroused. Tenten looked around then back at her lover.

"I'd rather not still be here when they fully awaken-" without another word, Neji scooped her up in his arms and they fled into the night, both alive, both safe, and both going on suicide missions together from then on.

* * *

A/N: gah, what a crappy ending... i'm sry if it's really anti climactic and stuff but... well... i tried. well, i know it's not an award winner like everyone else's but it's done... so my conscience is clear... sorta. well, i hope u like it, and if u don't i'll redo it- but only cause u guys are so special. plz review and tell me what i can/should/shouldn't do to make this better. thank you all for reading!!!!! 


	12. Dodging the Rain

Tenten walked down the street looking disheartened; her hands were shoved in her pockets and her eyes were all but glued to the pavement in front of her. A drop of rain landed on her coat and she looked up, growling at the sky; within moments, it growled back, spitting rain in her direction. She pulled her coat taut around her shivering body; why was she even out here anyway? It wasn't like walking in the pouring rain would solve anything. Her emotions towards _him_ right now were about as changing and sudden as these summer storms, and no matter what, she just couldn't seem to sort them out. She let out a sigh that seemed to come from the very depths of her soul- why couldn't things be simple? Just this once? She was so busy thinking that she didn't notice a large, muddy puddle before her, and slipped, falling backwards. She closed her eyes and waited for the impact of the soft, squishy, cold mud, but it never came. Instead, when she opened her eyes, she came face to face with none other than her most primary thought: Hyuga Neji.

"Hey- what are you doing here?" she asked, bewildered, wondering if her imagination hadn't run into overdrive. Figment or not, however, the Hyuga looked a bit miffed.

"A simple thank- you would have sufficed. Besides, I could ask you the same thing,"

"Oh I um… just thought it would be a good idea to go for a walk, that's all," she smiled at him, praying he would actually see that poor excuse as the truth. To her incredible shock, he let the comment pass.

"Right," he smirked "we'll go with that."

"What about you?" Tenten righted herself. "There must be a reason why _you're_ out in the rain as well,"

"I just had to get out of the house for a bit and… think a little," Tenten nodded knowingly.

"Yea- I feel you there,"

"Excuse me?" Neji looked at her incredulously.

"No- I mean I just had to… do some thinking too…" Neji nodded and both were silent for a moment until Neji pulled out an umbrella from a pocket inside his coat and, pointing to his left said:

"Your house is this way, right?"

"Yea… why?" Tenten replied inquisitively as Neji unfolded the umbrella and held it over her head.

"It isn't healthy to wonder around in the rain- you could get a cold, so, therefore, I'm taking you home."

"Oh um… thanks," she said, still a little confused. As they walked, each was quiet; lost in his or her own thoughts with only the pitter patter of rain to interrupt the silence. Finally, Neji spoke.

"What was your real reason for being out here?" _Darn it! _Tenten silently cursed. _I should have known he'd ask me that... _"Well??" Neji pressed her to speak.

"Well... it's just like I said- I was just out here to think; that's all," Neji narrowed his eyes.

"What were you thinking of?" Tenten narrowed his eyes at him.

"Hyuga Neji- you have got to be the most concieted idiot I have ever known-"

"So then that means that you _were _thinking about me?" Tenten quickly opened her mouth to retort, but shut it and looked away- anything to avoid seeing that smirk plastered onto his face. It was a while before she spoke again.

"Well then what were you thinking about?" Neji's smirk grew, if possible, bigger.

"I'd have to say that's none of your concern," Tenten narrowed her eyes.

"Were you thinking of... me?" the prodigy raised his eyebrows.

"Who's the one being concieted now?"

"Just answer the stupid question Mr. Ice berg- For- Brains," Neji let out a chuckle,

"Okay, fine... I _was_ thinking of... you," at this, Tenten became incredulous.

"And WHY were you thinking of me??"

"Because," he answered nonchantaly.

"Because... what?"

"Just... because,"

"Because...?"

"..."

"Because...?"

"..."

"Because!?"

"..."

"BECAUSE!?!?!?"

"BECAUSE I LOVE YOU DARN IT!!!!" Neji had finally snapped, and, in a drive of pure frustration, threw the umbrella aside and took Tenten's face in his hands and kissed her with such fierceness that Tenten felt dizzy for a few moments after they had broken apart. It was only after Neji had retrieved the umbrella and folded it away since it was no longer raining did she have the courage to speak.

"Oh... well... wow... um... I love you too Neji- kun!" Tenten smiled as she and her prodigy leaned forward and kissed again, this time under the blessing of the sun and not the rain.

A/N: hi guys!!!!!! omg, i'm so so so so so so so so SORRY i haven't updated in so ueber long- can you ever forgive me??? i hope you like this story- and if you don't then just tell me it sucks and i'll write another- and also, i'd like to thank all of the wonderful people who have reviewed for this story:

yukisgrlfriend

Sasukes-girl08

Xanie

Dreaming101

Maelynne Naveen

debilicious

WeaponsMistress

Kitty Harasser

Blossoms of Spring

Felix Felicis

Xia Tian

once again- thanks guys, and i'll try to have my other stories updated as soon as i can- LOVE YOU ALL!!!!! -hands out cookies- -


	13. Ice Skating

"Kaiten!" the Hyuga prodigy's voice echoed through the training grounds as weapons deflected themselves from his chakra field. He stopped spinning as the last weapon fell and sprang back in an attack position, facing the weapon's mistress.

"All righty then team- that's enough for today!" Maito Gai called out to his students.

"Hai, Gai- sensei!" Gai's faithful clone called back, jumping off the cold ground where he had been doing sit ups. "Neji, Tenten, are you ready to-" but his words were lost to them as they had already packed up and were on their way. One could still hear their voices in the distance…

"Wanna go grab some ramen with me at Ichicaru's, Neji?"

"Hn,"

"YAY! Let's go!!"

"Y'know Lee…" Gai appeared behind him in moment's notice, "Those two really get along well together, don't you think?" Lee turned to his sempai with little rivers running down his face, but then sobered up.

"Hai, sensei! We should think of a way to get them together!"

"Yosh! What an excellent idea my youthful prodigy! But how shall we do it? Hmmmm…" Gai rubbed his hand on his chin for a few moments, thinking; his breath coming out in little puffs of mist. Lee mimicked, and turned to look away, but fell into one of the crater's Neji made with his huge blast of chakra.

"Lee! You youthful genius! You have given me an idea!!!" the green prodigy jumped up excitedly"

"Yosh!! What do you have in mind sensei?" Gai chuckled deeply.

"All in good time, Lee, all in good time,"

-The next evening-

Tenten tugged at her navy blue scarf and rubbed her mittenend hands together, wondering what on earth was taking her team so long to get here. She had received a note earlier that day from Gai saying that practice had been canceled and they were all to meet at the training grounds later in the evening. Her musings stopped short as she heard the light crunch of snow under the Hyuga's shoes. She turned around and smiled at him.

"Hey, Neji!"

"Hn."

"Geez, usually you're such a chatter box…" Tenten joked lightly. Neji narrowed his eyes at her humor, but ignored the remark.

"So…" Tenten began after the usual awkward silence "do you have any idea why Gai called off training today, but made us come here anyways?"

"Not a clue," he continued to look at her as she rubbed her hands together to keep warm, noticing how the wintry air made her eyes sparkle and her lips and cheeks blush slightly. She caught him staring, then both suddenly looked away. Thankfully, the arrival of the ninja, clad in matching green scarves, mittens, and hats broke yet another awkward silence.

"Yosh! My students, I am so glad to see you here on this winter's eve!" Gai's unfounded and youthful enthusiasm made Lee break out in fresh, icy tears.

"Gai- sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai- sensei!"

"Lee!"

A sunburst, birds and summer scene which completely defied nature in every way, shape, and form later, Gai took out what looked to Tenten and Neji like a pair of shoes.

"Sensei- what on earth are those?" Tenten asked, only to be thrown the mysterious objects. As she caught them, she made sure to avoid the sharp blade attached to the end.

"Ice skates?" Neji voiced Tenten's thoughts. "What on earth are we going to do with these?"

"Neji- my youthful comrade! Though they call you a prodigy, you have yet to learn the most elementary of things!" Lee shouted exuberantly. "We're going ice skating!!" Immediately, Tenten began to get excited.

"Oh wow! I haven't been ice skating in the longest time- this is going to be so much fun!! Thanks guys!!" Gai and Lee both grinned at each other; so far, their plan was working well…

-Seven Minutes Later-

"C'mon, Neji- it'll be fun!" Tenten exclaimed for the hundredth time to the prodigy who had refused point- blank to put on the ice skates or go within two feet of that frozen over ponds… which, was actually starting to look a lot like one of the places in the earth his chakra had blasted to bits.

"Neji- kun… don't make me give you the puppy face," Tenten said, putting on a 'pouty' look. Neji closed his eyes, praying to the gods for patience… and maybe even temporary blindness. He opened them again to see Tenten staring at him, brown eyes full of emotion, her lips- now a cheery red from the cold, formed into pout; probably the cutest and most irresistible things Neji had ever seen. Admitting a wordless defeat, Neji got up and began putting on the ice skates as Tenten's look of cuteness melted into one of pure victory.

-Five Minutes Later-

"Neji! Move your butt and get out here!!" Tenten's voice carried over the ice and through the icy air to where the prodigy was sitting, still trying to tie those confounded skates. His fingers wrapped around the laces gingerly, as though he was afraid they might suddenly turn into poisonous snakes. His feet felt squished, but not very uncomfortable yet, so he could deal with that… now if only he had some help with-

"Here, let me help you," Tenten sighed. Neji almost jumped; he had been so focused on tying the laces, he hadn't heard her come up to him. Tenten looked further and saw that not only had Neji not been able to tie his shoes the correct way, but he had also gotten the laces tied around his hand. For Lee, who had gotten his shoes on in record time and was on the ice doing figure eights, it was all he could do to keep from cracking up at his rival. Meanwhile, back off the ice, Tenten had finally gotten Neji's shoe laces untangled, tied right, and stood up, getting ready to go back onto the ice. She held her hand out for Neji who grasped it and stood up and wobbled toward the ice. Once on the ice, Neji was able to take small steps without actually falling over. The weapons mistress saw her poor teammate struggling, and skated smoothly over to him. She decided not to comment on his nonexistent ice skating life, but instead, held her hand out once again. He took it without a word and the two were off. True, Neji was still a bit shaky on the skates, but with Tenten's guidance, he managed to skate in a fluid motion. Later that evening, after it had gotten too cold and too dark to skate, and the ice skates had been returned and given back to Gai, Neji and Tenten walked away from the training grounds just as they had done the previous day.

"Gai- sensei? Do you think our plan worked?" Gai turned to his student and whispered:

"We'll follow them a little ways then see…" Lee nodded silently and both stole away into the night after their team.

-With Tenten and Neji-

"That was fun, dontcha think, Neji?"

"Hn." Tenten laughed.

"Yeah, well, I know you had fun, even if you don't say it verbally," Though she could see his smirk, she decided on the whole it would be best if she could just ignore it. It was silent for a brief moment before he spoke.

"I'm not going to say I enjoyed it, but… thank you," they stopped walking and turned toward each other. Neji could see confusion written onto her face.

"Thank you for… what? I didn't really even do anything…" Neji leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the lips.

"For helping me see that even though it's winter, there are still things that can make a person feel warm."

A/N: hey guys!!! long time no see!!!! well, anyways, i'd first like to give a big 'Happy Thanksgiving!' to all of you out there, and second of all, i'd like to say thanks: thanks to fanfiction for letting me express my ideas and creations (no matter how poorly written they might be), thanks for you readers and reviwers and ur honesty when it comes to critiquing fanfics, and lastly, i'd like to thank all of you who have inspired me to write. for all u who are reading this, u kno who u are. Happy Thanksgiving everybody!!! till next time!!! -


	14. arguments and insomia

Hi guys! so sorry i haven't updated in SO long- i blame computer troubles, school, and laziness, but that's no excuse so for the rest of you, blaming me is not only expected, but encouraged. but enough ranting- let's get to the story!!

A/N: just a quick little note here- in this fic, ninjas will have technology. if they can have refrigerators and headsets, then they sure as heck can have cell phones too.

Night settled quietly upon Konoha. The streets that were normally bustling with people and movement were now still and peaceful under the soft glow of the moon. In a more crowded part of town, sat the house of the weapons mistress. Inside, said kunoichi was tossing and turning about in her small futon. White sheets lay, wrinkled and spread across the floor and the dark blue quilt, haphazardly lingering on the edge of the bed. Every once in a while, a groan would escape her lips, seeping into the dark air. Suddenly, her eyes opened, revealing frightened brown orbs. Sitting up quickly, she fumbled around in the darkness for some sort of a light. Her hands finally touched the cool plastic of her cell phone, and she opened it, wincing as a white- blue light spilled from the petite device. She allowed herself to take a moment and breathe, but the frightened look in her eyes didn't go away. To give herself something to do, her fingers began to figit with the phone- looking through pictures, text messages, and finally, the contacts. She looked down just as she was flipping through the "N" section of the names. The highlight landed on the name Hyuga, Neji. Tenten hesitated for a moment. Should she call him? Hmmm... maybe...

-Flashback-

_One day after training_...

"Yosh! What a wonderful day of training this has been!!" Rock Lee shouted exhubrently as the sun began to set.

"Oh my student! So full of youth and so eager to enjoy each and every day of it!! Ya gotta love this kid!!"

"Gai- sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai- sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai- sensei!"

"Lee!"

Neji and Tenten stared awkwardly as waves and an assortment of ocean animals appeard behind the two green- clad ninja. Neji shook his head in disproval, and Tenten rolled her eyes. Everything else hurt to move, so she decided rolling eyes was a painless choice. She returned to what had been keeping her attention before- her wrist had been badly damaged during her usual spar with Neji. As usual, she had thrown every weapon on her person at the prodigy, but was only able to get in a few nicks and scratches. In one of the moves, her kunai was deflected and surprisingly sprang back at her. To avoid getting hit, she had to make a quick flip in mid air and land on her hands. She was sure she didn't feel anything snap, but it still pulsed out a tremendous amount of pain. She stood up to go home, and pulled gauze out of her backpack to wrap her wrist, but a pale hand shot out, taking hold of the injury. Surprised, Tenten looked up to see that it was none other than the prodigy.

"Let me look at it" he said quietly.

"No- really, that's okay; I was just gonna go to the hospital and..." but, despite Tenten's pleas, she watched veins in Neji's Byakugan portruded, flooding his eyes with sacred energy. After a few moments, he nodded and said:

"Just as I thought... when you landed, one of your nerves became pinched between your wrist joint... don't worry- this will only take a second..." And in truth, it did only take a second, but the pain that followed in the few seconds aftermath was worse.

"OW!!" Tenten screamed, holding her hand tightly to her chest.

"Don't complain- if you ice it when you get home, it shouldn't swell or anything."

Wrist still smarting with pain, the weapon's mistress glared at the Hyuga and said:

"Dammit, Hyuga, I don't get you! Whenever I try to start a conversation, you're less than articulate, but when I just want to be left alone, you turn around and... and... see?" she held up her injured hand as proof. Neji returned the glare- and it was twice as icy as Tenten's was. The weapon's mistress was so stunned by the ferocity of it, her resentment faltered.

"Then next time, I won't help you!" infuriated at his teammate, he walked away, bumping hard into Tenten's shoulder. Growling in frustration with the world around her, Tenten walked home alone.

-End Flashback-

How long had she been staring at his name on her cell phone? It seemed like a long time... and still she hadn't answered the same question that had been flitting in and out of her mind- should she call him? Her logical side argued:

_Well why should you call him? It's the middle of the night, he probably hates you forever, and you don't need an argument this late at night- you need sleep!_

But her heart argued back:

Because it's the right thing to do- despite how late it is! I was being a total jerk to him when he helped me- and fyi, the reason I haven't been sleeping isn't insomnia- it's this fight with Neji!

_L: Well, i still say he should have asked if you wanted help. _

H: He was just trying to be nice!

_L: Don't call him!_

H: That's it- I'm calling him!

_L: Wait- think this through!!_

"Would both of you just SHUT UP?!" Tenten shouted at the both of them. "Oh great, now I'm talking to myself..." she mumbled to the darkness. "Well.. here goes nothing..." she pressed the number on her phone to call Neji. She held the phone up to her ear, listening to the ring. Her heart jumped as his smooth voice floated over the phone.

"Tenten?" Taking a deep breath, and swallowing her pride, Tenten spoke, her voice sounding rusty from sleep (and lackthereof)

"Hey, Neji..." she paused, her heart thumping in her ears. "I just wanted... to say that I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be such a witch about the other day- it was totally wrong of me and everything..." she stopped, hoping for a reaction. Moments went by...

"Neji?"

"What?"

"Oh- I just wanted to make sure you were still there..."

"I am... but... Tenten?" She cringed at the thought of verbal accusations and more arguing.

"Yeah?"

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" Bemused, Tenten looked at a clock that sat on her night stand lamp. The numbers blared back in green: 4:02 a.m.

"Yea... so it's four in the morning... you're point?"

"What are you doing up at four in the morning?" Tenten gave a small smile- she could almost see the prodigy's eyes narrowed with question.

"I um... I couldn't sleep... I was thinking a lot about..."

"Our fight?" he supplied for her.

"Yeah... and I'm really sorry."

"I'm... sorry too..." Tenten's eyebrows shot up, and began to smile unbelievably.

"What?"

"I know you heard me- don't make me say it again." Tenten giggled in relief and exhaustion.

"Tenten?"

"Yeah?"

"Go to bed. I haven't been able to sleep that well either, and I have a feeling we're both going to need our strength for tomorrow's training session."

" 'Kay," Tenten said as she yawned, feeling sleep encompass her. She fell back against her pillow, pulling her blanket over her. She was so tired, that by the time Neji said his montonous "Goodnight," Tenten had replied with a mumbled " 'Night... love you..."

"Wait, Tenten, wha-"

_Click_

Neji sighed to himself as he lay the troublesome device aside before picking it up again and flipping across the numbers.When he finished, he smiled to himself. He pulled the covers over his shoulder. When Tenten awoke a few hours later, she saw her phone was glowing with the message: 1 new text. Frowning, she flipped up her phone and opened the message.

_night, tenten. love you too. _

Tenten smiled to herself, imagining the day ahead.

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A/N: yea, i know... not up to my usual standards, but i hope that you liked it anyways!! please review!! :D :D


	15. sleep deprivation

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A/N: yay! i made another fic!! i really wanna have at least 30 more fics by the end of summer vacation, and at the rate i'm going, i think that's a goal i'm gonna make :D

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A shrill cry filled the southernmost part of the Hyuga household. The two were really very lucky no one else had woken up- with the exception of Hanabi who stomped into their room and viciously swiped at Neji with her kunai- shaped pillow and stomped back out to try and regain lost sleep. The cries grew louder as the night wore on.

"Neji- what do we do? He hasn't stopped crying all night…" the weapon's mistress looked desperate- there were dark shadows under her eyes, and her hair was falling out in a messy single bun. She carried with her a bottle and a spare blanket. "Do you think he's hungry?"

Neji shrugged, also looking worse for the wear. Like his partner, he also had dark circles under his eyes, and moved about sluggishly, though carefully, for he carried the crying infant in his arms.

"He couldn't be- we just fed him half an hour ago," Tenten frowned, thinking of the possibilities.

"Well we just changed him, so THAT couldn't be the problem…"

"What about feeding him?" Tenten rolled her eyes at her fiance. He had been remarkably dense without any of his precious beauty sleep lately.

"We've gone through this already- you said he couldn't be hungry 'cause he just ate half an hour ago." Neji blinked slowly.

"Oh… right…" Tenten rolled her eyes for the second time in two minutes.

This. Was. Getting. Ridiculous.

Suddenly, Tenten was sparked with an idea.

"What about rocking him to sleep? Is there a rocking chair we could use?" Neji shook his head.

"There's only rocking chair in this whole FRIGGIN place… and it's in Hiashi's old study…" Tenten tilted her head slightly, ignoring the pieces of hair that fell out of her bun and onto her face. She suddenly smiled at Neji.

"Tenten, whatever you're thinking, the answer is NO," at this, she continued to smile at him, but this time, placing her ivory hands on his muscular chest almost seductively.

"Please Neji? Think about it… this just might work- and if it does, wouldn't it be nice to get back to BED?" Neji looked at the bed, and back at her. Then back to the bed, then back at her. Silently, he handed her the crying bundle, and walked out of the room. Tenten's smile became victorious. Oh what the sleep deprived will do…

Meanwhile with Neji…

The corridors were so dark due to the lateness of the hour, but thankfully, he knew his way around the Hyuga mansion- even without the Byakugan. After a few moments, he came upon the door to his uncle's old (but still very private) study. He closed his fingers ever so carefully around the cold handle, and opened the door without making a sound. Feeling his way with his hands, he groped nothing but darkness until suddenly, he was blinded by the lights that were flicked on by none other than Hiashi Hyuga, looking as he usually did- high and mighty, even in a white bedtime robe. Neji's back straightened, and he bowed, mumbling: "Hiashi- sama,". Hiashi looked at him, arms folded, and said quietly:

"Neji, may I be so bold as to inquire what you're doing in my study?" Neji gulped loudly, his eyes darting to the rocking chair that lay just a few feet away. Oh… so close… yet so far…. Hiashi saw what Neji was looking at, and gave his nephew a small smile.

"Hanabi has been complaining about the commotion in your room for quite a while now... If this is what will get it to stop, then please, take it. Surprised, but utterly grateful, Neji bowed again and quickly said:

"ThankyouHiashi-sama," and picked up the chair, preparing to take it and run.

"Oh, and Neji?" Hiashi halted him before he could bolt.

"Hai, Hiashi- sama?" Hiashi looked… rather embaressed as his eyes grazed the floor but landed back onto Neji.

"Just… promise me that you and your friend the… weapon's mistress… will think long and hard about-"

"Hai- we will, Hiashi- sama, thank you!" Neji whispered as he vanished back into the dark hallways. Hiashi stood there for another few moments and smiled to himself, shaking his head.

Meanwhile with Tenten…

Where the frick is he?! Tenten thought anxiously as she bounced the crying bundle up and down in her arms, shushing him. Just then, Neji appeared in the doorway, in his arms, was the promised rocking chair. Tenten smiled at him as he set it down on the cold wooden floor of his room. Hurridly, she sat down, and began rocking the infant as Neji watched, sitting on his unmade bed. Back and forth, back and forth. The crying slowed- it was a miracle! Tenten and Neji both sighed wearily as the baby hiccupped once, then snuggled closer to Tenten. After a few moments, she smiled at Neji who gave her a small smile back.

"Thank you," she mouthed.

"Thank you," he mouthed back at her. He watched her as she silently got up, and transferred the baby to his crib. Thankfully, he stayed asleep. Making sure to keep just as quiet, the two ninja both climbed into bed, and pulled the white, wrinkled covers over them.

"You're amazing- getting that chair from Hiashi… you'll have to tell me all about it in the morning…" Tenten yawned, closing her eyes. Neji smiled at her, and pulled her closer to him, kissing her forehead, pleased as he saw a small smile and a faint blush on her cheeks.

"Yeah… morning…" Neji paused for a second before whispering: "Tenten?"

"Hmm?" she mumbled, already half asleep.

"Promise me that we won't have any children for a while- these baby sitting missions really take it out of you." Tenten smiled again, and opened her eyes, staring up at blank orbs.

"Promise," she said, as she sleepily linked her pinky finger with his.

And there the three slept soundly… until morning that is…

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A/N: so i hope you liked it!! please review- you know you wanna :P


	16. arachniphobia

I'd like to dedicate this fic to two people: my sister (who is biologically related to me) and my best friend EVER (who is not so much biologically related to me) anyways, enjoy the fic!! :D

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Bright summer sun filled the bustling village of Konoha. Everybody, it seemed, had their own duty to perform to keep their town alive and well. The ninja were no exception as they went on missions or trained with one another. There was one team, in particular, that trained harder than ever in the heat of the season. That team, was Team Gai. Usually, the team would come to the training grounds everymorning at seven, but that morning, they were one short. The shorter green one gasped when he saw it was one minute past seven.

"It's... impossible!" he said, "Tenten is never late- something terrible must have happened to her!" The slightly taller, stoic brunette sighed impatiently.

"She's probably just late Lee, I'm sure she's fine," though unnoticed by his teammate and sensei, his eyebrows pulled upward together- ever so slightly- in a look of mild concern. Gai thought for a moment, then proclaimed:

"Neji- your duty now is to wait for Tenten until she arrives!" Neji sighed exasperatedly, but nodded and said:

"Hai, Gai- sensei."

"Have fun waiting, Neji- san!!" Lee called gleefully as he and Gai ran off to train. Neji rolled his eyes and decided that, instead of waiting, he would look for Tenten. Make him miss out on HIS training, will she? Well, he'd just see about that...

The first place he'd go would be her house, because if she was going to the training grounds, he would probably pass her on the way, or else, just meet up with her at her house. Or, if he was really persistant and stubborn (which we all know he is), he would have elected himself the tedious task of searching the entire village which he didn't want to, so he hoped that she was at her house.

When he got there, he found the front door slightly ajar. At this, he began to worry slightly; had someone broken in to her home and (somehow) hurt her? This notion was quickly dispelled as he stepped into the living room and heard her call him.

"Neji! What are you doing here?"

"You're late for practice," Neji answered looking for the source of her voice. "Where ARE you, anyway?"

"Up here!" Bewildered, Neji looked up and saw Tenten clinging to the ceiling fan.

"What on earth are you doing up there?"

"It's a long story!" Tenten said, looking frazzled. "Just get me down!" Neji frowned and pinched the bridge of his nose, looking down.

"Tenten," he began, looking up once more, "you're a kunoichi. You have to be able to ump from emmense heights- a ceiling fan should not present a challenge!" Tenten glared up at him.

"I've calculated if I jump from here, I wouldn't have enough room to right myself- I'd break my neck!" Neji sighed then called back:

"Then jump anyways- I"ll catch you," Tenten contemplated this for a moment, then meekly replied:

"Kay- here I go..." Closing her eyes, she let go, feeling her stomach fly into her throat as she fell.

_Whump!_

Tenten opened her chocolate brown eyes to see Neji jolding her, kneeling on the ground from the force of her fall.

"Thanks, Neji- kun," she gasped, a grin slowly spreading across her face. Neji smirked and helped her up.

"So, how DID you get stuck up there, Tenten?" The prodigy asked, folding his arms, the curiousness on his face, unmaskable. He hadn't come all the way there to have his girlfriend fall on him... wait...

"There was ah..." Tenten cringed in combination of embarassment and... fear? "... a spider," she finished lamely. Neji frowned.

"So you're telling me a SPIDER caused you to propel yourself roughly twelve feet into the air with no hope of getting down?" Tenten frowned, guiltily.

"That about sums it up,"

"Where IS this spider, anyway?" Neji's pearl- white eyes began scanning the walls, looking dubious.

"It's that one- right on the wall," Tenten said, shakily, pointing at one of the beige walls in the spacious room. Utterly bewildered, Neji moved forward to see the long legged, brownish intruder. With one swift motion of his hand, Neji grabbed the spider and walked it to the door, where he threw it out and slammed the door shut. Before he had fully turned around, he felt Tenten's arms wrap around him, her face buried in his neck. Though he couldn't see her mouth, he could tell she was smiling as she muttered a soft 'thank you' into his shoulder. He tilted his head so that their lips met for a brief moment before a high pitched scream from outside shattered the silence, making the two turn to the door, startled.

"Oh my God, a spider! Sasuke- hold me!!"

_Sigh_

Neji and Tenten looked back to each other, Tenten trying her hardest to surpress a fit of giggles, and Neji smirking. Once Tenten's laughter calmed down, Neji said:

"I guess Naruto's afraid of spiders too,"

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A/N: so i hope you liked it!! please review!!


	17. allergies

Hey guys! shadowofnothing14 here! so... this might be my last fanfic for a while- i just have so much to do lately... anyways, hope you all like it!! luv u!!

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_Flashback_

_The Konoha mall was dingy, loud, and aflame with shoppers. The weapons mistress was suffering her misfortune by being dragged around the awful place by her two best friends, Sakura and Ino._

_"C'mon, Ten!" Sakura shouted over the din of music and people, "Time is wasting, and I have yet to get you a belated birthday present!" Tenten squirmed under her firm grip, and almost pulled away only to have Ino pushing her from behind._

_"Geez, Tenten," the blond said, awestruck by the resistance, "why can't you stick around just long enough for us to buy you something?"_

_"Neji and I have a- um… I mean, we're getting together later!" Tenten said, stumbling over the excuse in haste not to let the relationship between herself and the prodigy out of the bag. Sakura smirked, but relented, and said:_

_"Okay, Tenten, here's the deal- how about we pick one store, and you show us ONE thing you want, 'kay?" Reluctantly but willing to cooperate, the weapons mistress stopped her protesting and allowed the two kunzite to escort her into a pink, frilly store. Tenten looked about warily, flinching whenever something of the pink or frilly variety touched her._

_"The only thing we want you to do is pick out a gift that costs more than a dollar, and we'll get it for you," Sakura instructed. Putting a finger to her lips, Tenten quickly scanned the suffocating store and finally picked out a strawberry flavored lip gloss that sold for 1.50. Smiling victoriously, she watched as her friends divvied up the change and paid for it, rolling their eyes all the while._

_End Flashback_

Tenten unwillingly twirled the pinkish red tube of lip gloss between her ivory, lithe fingers as she contemplated whether she should wear it or not. Everything else was ready for her in- home movie date with Neji. Now all that was left to do was debate whether she should put on the gloss. She sighed as the twisted open the cap and squeezed the tube, watching in curiosity as a tiny bit of gloss bubbled over. She hesitated for a split second then gingerly applied it to her lips, which became shiny and slightly redder. Out of habit, she licked her lips and was pleasantly surprised to find that they tasted just like strawberries. Hearing her doorbell ring, she quickly reapplied and went to answer the door.

"Hey," Tenten said, smiling at Neji before he swept her into an embrace.

"You look nice," Neji commented, closing the door with his foot, "is that lip gloss?" he asked amused as he tilted her chin slightly with two fingers. Tenten smiled and replied:

"Yeah- Sakura and Ino got it for me as a belated-" but she was cut off as Neji's mouth covered hers in an abrupt, yet passionate kiss. Tenten's heart hammered as Neji's tongue slipped silkily over her glossed lips, tasting the strawberry. Just as she began to kiss back, he pulled away. Thinking it was a tease, Tenten leaned in farther only to be held back at arms length by Neji who was gasping.

_Wow! I must have turned him on more than I thought…_

"Ten… Ten…" gasp, "I think I'm allergic to you…" Neji now began choking. Frantically, Tenten said:

"S-strawberry! Ohmygod, Neji- you must be allergic to that stupid lip gloss! C'mon- I have to get you to Tsunade," by now, Neji's tongue was swollen, and all he could do was nod and wheeze.

They got to the hospital just as Sakura was finishing her rounds. By this time, Tenten was half dragging the prodigy.

"What happened?" Sakura asked hastily as she motioned for two other interns to get a stretcher. "You were training out in the sun again, weren't you?" she directed to the weapons mistress as the two medic ninja came back with a gurney and carefully placed Neji onto it.

"We weren't training- he… uh…" Tenten hesitated, wondering how best to phrase the dilemma.

"Out with it, girl!" Sakura shouted.

"Okay, fine! It was the strawberry lip gloss! We were making out and his tongue got all swollen-"

"Allergies!" Sakura shouted to the medic ninja, "probably from artificial strawberry flavoring!" she quickly ran into Neji's curtained off 'room'.

Momentarily, Sakura came out, looking relieved. Tenten shot out of a waiting room chair.

"Is he-" she began, but Sakura interrupted.

"He's fine- but he made me promise that I wouldn't tell anybody- threatened, actually…" Sakura mused before Tenten hugged her, and said:

"Ohmygosh, thank you so much!" Sakura pulled away, and smiled.

"Hey, it's okay- now go spend some time with your boyfriend," embarrassed, but smiling, Tenten nodded and headed to Neji's room.

"Hey," Tenten pulled aside the curtain to see Neji sitting up in a hospital bed, breathing normally. He said nothing, but gave her a look of contempt.

"Neji, I'm so sorry," she began, kneeling at his bedside, "seriously, I had no idea you were allergic- if I had, I never would have gotten that stupid lip gloss in the first place- I'm so sorry…" Tenten trailed off miserably and looked away until Neji reached out and touched her hand.

"It's okay- don't worry about it," Neji muttered, his mouth still rather sore after its adventurous day.

"So… does this mean no hard- core making out for a while…?" Neji smirked.

"Well as long as you're not wearing any more strawberry lip gloss…" he paused as he reached toward Tenten's lips which were still glossy. She smiled mischievously and leaned toward him, whispering:

"Don't worry- this kind is lemon."

* * *

so i hope you all liked it!! please please PLEASE review!!


	18. the question

"Mummy? Daddy?"

"Hn?"

"Yes, sweetie?"

"Where do babies come from?"

The air stiffens with tension. A choked gasp is heard.

"Um... you see..."

"The stork,"

_Blink._

"Really Mommy?"

"Er- um, yeah!"

"Wow..."

Later that same evening...

Chocolate brown eyes rolled with heavy sarcasm laced in the voice.

"The stork, Neji? That's original..."

"What should I have told him?"

"The truth!"

"To be honest... I don't quite remember..."

"You don't remember the day your son was born?!"

"You flung a vase at my head, giving me a concussion."

"Oh... right..."

"... So now what?"

"Neji?"

"Yeah?"

"Let's have another!"


	19. the haircut

Neji, and Rock Lee, sat opposite each other in the middle of the forest training grounds. It was the most beautiful spring day; the sun sat in the cloudless sky, and shone through the trees, speckling the green grass that lay on the forest floor.

"Well," Neji began, "it's been at least five minutes- should we get to training?"

"But, Neji," Lee's eyes grew "Should we not wait for Tenten? She is hardly ever late- I bet she'll be here soon,"

"Hn," the prodigy replied, closing his eyes, and beginning to meditate. "I'll give her two more minutes. There is no excuse for lateness."

"Yosh!" Lee exclaimed happily, his fist pumping into the air.

Meanwhile…

_Crap! I'm late- I'm late! _The weapons mistress chided herself as she ran through the streets of Konoha.

"Hey, Tenten!" a pink haired kunoichi called to her friend. Tenten stopped and turned around.

"Hey Sakura- sorry but I'm-"

"I just wanna know how your time at the salon was yest- ummm, Ten? What's up with the helmet?"

"Sorry, but I'm late for training!" With that, Tenten rushed off to practice, a self- conscious hand, clutching the helmet on her head.

Meanwhile…

"Lee, would you STOP sighing? If you want to train, just go already. Besides, it's been two minutes, and Tenten's still not-"

"It has not yet been two minutes, Neji, for I have been counting in my head, and she still has twelve seconds left to go!" Neji's white eyes opened from his meditative state and flashed with disbelief.

"That's impossible- your count must be off."

"Or maybe," Lee said a wry smirk on his face "it is YOUR counting that is off!" They were both cut off at the sound of running footsteps.

"Sorry I'm late, guys," Tenten panted, setting down her bag. As she busied herself with getting out her massive arsenal of Japanese weaponry, Neji and Lee couldn't help but stare.

"Tenten- chan," Lee began curiously "why are you wearing a helmet?"

"What are you talking about, Lee?" Tenten dug deeper into her pack, trying to not let her blushing cheeks show.

"He means why are you covering up your hair?" Neji asked before Lee could ask any further questions.

"Oh, what, this?" Tenten patted her neon yellow. "I ummm thought it looked cute- what, don't you guys think so too?" She turned, and stared hard at them both. Neji and Lee looked at each other. They knew better than to disagree, but at the same time, refused to believe her answer.

"I for one refuse to train until you tell us the truth about the helmet, Tenten!" Lee said, looking to Neji for support. The prodigy's lips turned up in a smirk and his arms folded themselves across his chest.

"Now that Lee mentions it, it DOES seem a bit impractical for a ninja to wear something so bright."

"But-"

"Off with it, Tenten." Neji said, his smirk down- playing the harsh tone in which the words were said. "Don't forget; Gai left ME in charge. If I say something, you have to do it."

"Talk about abusing your power…" Tenten said, putting a hand to her helmet's strap. She looked at her teammates exasperatedly.

"Do I HAVE to?" she pled, attempting her best puppy- dog eyes. Unfortunately, Lee and Neji's curiosity had made them impervious to any such tactic. They both nodded and, grudgingly, Tenten clipped off the helmet.

Her hair was not in buns, and was definitely shorter, to say the least. Little bits had been chopped off here and there, and many tufts stuck out of random spots. Her bangs had, for the most part, been left alone, but the hair beside the bangs was shorter, as though the hairdresser tried to make the bangs swoop out and curtain her face. Worse, and possibly most noticeable of all, was the bright pink dye that was on the tips of her hair.

"Uhh…" was all Lee could say. Neji was silent, surveying the situation at hand.

"Happy now?" the kunoichi glared at them both. "Ino made me go to this stupid salon last night 'cause she wanted me to get my hair done." She seethed for a while, arms crossed so tightly, it seemed as though they would never unfold. Neji sighed to himself before saying:

"Maybe I can help." Both teammates gawked at him.

"And what would YOU know about fixing hair?" Tenten asked, skeptically. Neji simply pointed to his silky, chocolaty smooth locks, giving her a 'well, duh' look.

"Point taken," Tenten mumbled. "Fine- do whatever you have to; just make it better," Neji smirked and said:

"Come on- you're going to have to come with me to the mansion."

"I want to help too!" their green- clad teammate shouted with enthusiasm.

"You can watch. Who knows? Maybe you'll get some pointers too, Lee." Neji said, already walking on ahead.

"What's THAT supposed to mean?" Lee yelled back indignantly.

Meanwhile…

"Are you SURE you know what you're doing, Neji?" Tenten asked as she knelt, facedown, with her head in the bathroom sink.

"Don't doubt my wonders, Tenten," Neji replied, searching the lower cabinets for hair products. "The first thing that must be done is: wash the dye from your hair." Once he found the container he was looking for, Neji popped the top and upturned the bottle. At once, a pale, creamy, vanilla smelling substance flowed onto his hand. He then proceeded to wash Tenten's hair with it. Slowly but surely, the pink dye started to come out.

"Wow, Neji!" Lee exclaimed upon seeing the lather become pink "What kind of shampoo is that?"

"It's a secret concoction." The prodigy stated simply. "Known only to Hyugas who make the shampoo,"

_Geez- is this a family or a secret society? _Tenten asked herself, her eyes shut tight to prevent the soap from entering.

Ten minutes of soaking, rinsing, and conditioning later, Tenten sat on a stool in the middle of the enormous, well- lit bathroom, staring apprehensively at a pair of scissors held tightly in Neji's bandaged hand.

"You're not gonna cut it MORE, are you? My poor hair's been chopped up enough!"

"Calm down," Neji said, tugging at her hair with a comb. "Just trust me, okay?"

"Okay," Tenten mumbled, closing her eyes. "Tell me when it's over."

Twenty minutes of listening to the quick, metallic snips of the scissors, Tenten felt the heat and wind of a hair dryer gliding over her hair. Even with her eyes shut tight, Tenten could feel that her hair had a more silky feel to it. The hair dryer was turned off.

"Tenten- chan! Open your eyes- you must see your new hair cut! It looks so cute!" Lee called out excitedly. Intrigued, Tenten opened her eyes. Once she saw her reflection, she gasped.

"Neji- how… how did you..? It looks perfect!"

Her hair was a little bit shorter than shoulder length, but the way the ends turned upwards gave her a pixie- like look. Her bangs fell softly to one side, but could be pulled back with a headband, and all of the pink was gone. Her hair flowed like chocolaty silk.

"Thank you, Neji! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I can actually show myself in public again!" Tenten hugged Neji tightly then danced around the bathroom.

"Yosh! Tenten is back to her happy self!" Lee shouted exuberantly running around with her as Neji began cleaning up.

"Hey, Neji! Tenten called, her voice echoing around the white- tiled room, "Let's have lunch at Ichikaru's! My treat!"

"Yosh! Let us go, Neji!" The prodigy looked up from clearing the floor of water and bits of hair.

"You two go on ahead- I need to clean up a little more."

"Yosh! Let's go, Tenten!" Lee said, pushing Tenten out the door.

"See you there, Neji!" Tenten yelled.

Once out of the compound, Lee said:

"Tenten? Does Neji seem… different to you?"

"What do you mean? Different how?"

"I mean, Neji certainly doesn't seem the type to be very… fashion oriented."

"Rock Lee- are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"Tenten- chan, I think Neji- san is gay!"

* * *

DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN haha i hope you guys liked this chapter- there shall be a chapter after this that deals with neji's... ahem... sexual orientation hahahaha. anyways, im sorry for not uploading sooner, but since it's summer now, i shall try to be more consistent!


	20. Not Such a Bad Day

_Beep, beep, beep, beep…_

"Ugh" Tenten rolled over, slamming her hand down on the snooze button before a stomach cramp made her curl up into a ball under her covers.

No. Today was not going to be a good day.

_Please let us leave early today, _Tenten silently prayed to whatever god might be listening. She hugged herself as another cramp seized painfully in her lower abdomen. _Or better yet, cancel practice altogether. Ugh. If I knew Neji wasn't gonna be a supreme ass about it, I would totally ask him if I could just have the day off. _Tenten rolled her eyes at the thought of her egotistical, psychotic, ass of a boyfriend. She had barely made it through her morning routine; after discovering that not only was she out of painkillers, but she had also used up her last tampon after her shower, she was not in the best of moods, and the barrage of never- ending cramps weren't helping. _Hopefully we'll just be meditating today. If they make me do anything that involves effort, I'm turning around and going home, _the kunoichi thought.

Deciding she should at least attempt make the best of the situation, Tenten approached her team, trying her best to smile. Neji nodded at her, his eyes lingering a little longer than usual, while Lee ran over to her and gave her a hug.

"TENTEN! HOW ARE YOU THIS LOVELY MORNING?"

"Lee, I swear to any god that might be listening, if you don't let go of me, I will use you as my next dummy for target practice." The weapon's mistress muttered darkly while Lee let go and slowly inched away from her.

"Why Tenten, whatever is the matter?" Gai asked his female pupil upon seeing her, angry and grimacing. "Our lovely youthful flower cannot be wilting! 100 laps around Konoha! That'll get you to smile a bit."

Tenten almost cried.

"YOSH!" Gai's youthful prodigy proclaimed. "We shall all run around Konoha 100 times! Gai- sensei, are you ready for a race?" Gai smiled his pingy- smile before holding out two black pieces of cloth.

"And let us use blindfolds this time, my youthful student!" in response, Lee's eyes began to water with the beauty of the task he had been given

"A CHALLENGE HAS BEEN ISSUED! I AM READY, SENSEI!" Lee yelled enthusiastically, tying the blindfold onto his head as Gai did the same.

"Ready… set… GO!" Gai yelled, then both were out of sight. Within a matter of seconds, the breaking of glass and screams from town were heard. Sighing at their antics, Tenten began running after the two green clad ninja until a hand on her shoulder made her stop and turn.

"You don't look so good," the Hyuga studied his teammate carefully. From having known her for so long, he had gotten familiar to her different moods and looks and knew when something wasn't right.

"Gee thanks, dear," the weapon's mistress said dryly, rolling her eyes. "Any other compliments you want to send my way?" Neji frowned and put a hand to her head.

"You feel a little warm…" he muttered before Tenten batted his hand away.

"Neji, quit it. I'm fine." She bit her bottom lip as another cramp sent pain coursing through her midsection.

"What's the matter, Tenten?" he asked stonily. "You never act like this; you would think I would be able to guess when something is wrong. Unless you just want me to find out for myself…" He didn't like being lied to, and Tenten knew it.

"I'm just having really bad cramps this month; I don't have any painkillers in the house so…" she trailed off and shrugged, unsure of what else to say. As odd as it seemed, she wasn't embarrassed by this dilemma; they had been together long enough to not be self-conscious about things like this.

"Hmm… I see," Neji contemplated for a moment. "Then in that case, you aren't fit to train. Why don't we take the day and relax?"

"_We? Take the day? Relax?_" Tenten asked incredulously. "Neji, just because I'm not feeling well doesn't mean you have to-" but before she could finish speaking, he picked her up and began walking her towards her house. "This is _so _unnecessary!" Tenten growled at him, ignoring the whistles and the cat- calls from the passers- by.

"Be quiet, you'll just make your cramps worse," the Hyuga said, staring straight ahead while his girlfriend huffed then quieted down, knowing he was right.

For the rest of the day, Neji stayed with Tenten at her house, massaging her back, even letting her cuddle up to him while they were watching movies on her couch. When she fell asleep, he laid her down, covering her with the afghan that had been lying on the couch. He stared at her for a few seconds before tucking a piece of hair behind her ear and kissing her cheek softly. He got up and crossing the room to leave her apartment, quietly shutting the door behind him.

When Tenten woke, she found she had been covered with a blanket and beneath that, a heating pad which warmed her stomach, lessening the pain of the cramps. The light from her windows was fading; the room was lit only from the flickering blueish light of the television and the fading rays of the sun. Several bottles of pain medication as well as a box of tampons and a few bars of chocolate sat on the coffee table beside the couch.

"Hey," Neji sat on the other end of the couch. "You're up."

"Hey," Tenten smiled. "When did you decide to move over there?"

"When you decided it would be fun to drool in your sleep," Neji grinned.

"I do not drool in my sleep," Tenten protested sleepily.

"Hn. Right."

"So what's all this?" Tenten smiled, gesturing towards the goodies on the table in front of her.

"Just some things I thought you might need. Women like these things during their times of the month, correct?" Tenten laughed.

"Yeah; you did good." She unwrapped a chocolate bar and bit a piece off. "Want some?" he shrugged and held his arm out. "Sure."

"Nope," she smiled. "You have to come here and get it." Grinning, Neji got up and sat down on her end of the couch, broke a piece, and had it halfway to his mouth before deciding to feed it to Tenten.

"Ha ha you were supposed to eat that." The weapon's mistress laughed a little. Neji took a bottle of pain pills and handed it to her.

"Here. They'll probably help." Tenten nodded, looking over the small writing on the back of the bottle. "Wow; Neji you didn't have to spend so much money on me; now I feel guilty." She pouted, her lower lip jutting forward. It was so cute, Neji had to stop himself from laughing, but pacified her with a smile.

"I got them from the complex; just take one, though. They're pretty strong."

"Kay," Tenten shook out a small white pill and took it, then snuggled up to Neji. For a few moments, the only noise in the room came from the television. Then, Tenten said quietly: "You know… I wouldn't mind if we had a few more of these kinds of days," she smiled, laying her head on his chest. He gave her half a smile.

"Yeah; for a day without training… it wasn't too bad," he bent down to kiss her then, after the kiss was broken, Tenten whispered: "No… not a bad day at all," and smiled as they began to kiss again.

* * *

A/N: Hey everybody! I'm back! I'm sorry it's been so long since I've updated; things have been crazy and I really haven't had as much time and inspiration as I used to. I feel like this chapter is lacking a bit, but I blame that on the fact that I haven't been keeping up with it as much as I should- for which, I apologize VERY MUCH! To any of my old readers, thanks for reading and to my new readers, thank you for reading as well! I hope you enjoyed! Please Review! If there was something you liked, then yay! And if there was something you hated, tell me and I'll make it better!

Thanks,  
Shadowofnothing14


	21. Valentine's Day

A/N: Hey everybody! I know it's been about a week since Valentine's Day, but I've been super busy and cranked this one out while I was supposed to be doing homework. Enjoy!

Christmas was long gone, and so was New Years. Before Tenten knew it, February rolled around and, soon enough, amidst the cold wind, rolling with white flakes of snow and red paper hearts taped to shop and house windows, came the ever- dreaded Valentine's Day.

For normal couples, the day was abloom with fresh proclamations of love for their admirer, soul mate, fiance, husband, whatever. But come on, this is Neji and Tenten we're talking about- they're not exactly what other couples would have called "normal". There were whispers among their peers about how Neji had Tenten go over to visit _him_ and how they didn't celebrate Valentine's Day and oh- did- you- hear- about- this- _Tenten _was the one who paid for the meal on their last date.

Both Neji and Tenten were well aware of how much people knew about their relationship. It kind of creeped them out, actually.

"But the guy is ALWAYS supposed to pay!" Sakura yelled at Tenten one day as they snacked at a small café in town. "What did he say when you offered to pay?"

Tenten took a casual sip of her frothy, strawberry- banana smoothie before answering: "He just said: 'Whatever,' and shrugged. Come on, Sakura- is it really that big a deal?"

"Tenten, _real _ladies always let the man treat them! _And," _she continued, looking murderous, "_He _should be going to see _you. NOT _the other way around," Ino joined in, just as outraged as her pink cotton candy- haired partner in crime.

"But he's paid for, like, everything!" Tenten looked indignant and annoyed at being ganged up on. "Why shouldn't I pay sometimes? And what's so wrong if I wanna go see him?"

"D-don't yell at Tenten…" Hinata mumbled, fidgetting with her hangnails.

"You're one to talk, Hinata," scolded Ino, pointing an irritatingly bright pink nail in her direction. "Since when has Naruto given you _anything?_" Hinata flushed, a dull red spreading through her ivory pale cheeks.

"He's a little… tight with money right now," she whispered, rushing to explain "but he does give me things- just the other day he brought me some beautiful tiger lilies and-"

"That IDIOT! We just had tiger lilies stolen from our shop! I bet it was him!" Ino fumed at the idea that the blonde haired ninja had sneaked in, unknown to her.

"Ino- focus," Sakura said calmly. "We'll deal with that baka later- right now, we need to decide what to do about our Tenten!" she sighed dramatically. "And what is this we hear about you two not celebrating the big V day? Do you two hate romance or something? Is that it?"

"No!" Tenten yelled, a little stung. "We just don't like making such a huge mushy- gushy deal about it like the rest of this stupid town. It's not a big deal to us and in the three years we've been dating, it's never been! Why ruin all that for a day of stressing over whether I should've gotten him the white teddy bear or the one with red hearts all over it?"

"They have those?" Sakura's eyes gleamed over at the thought of presenting Sasuke with said bear.

"Focus!" Ino said, bringing her back to reality. "Fine, Tenten, ignore us. But _we _think you're headed for trouble!" Tenten rolled her eyes as she slid on her coat and paid her bill.

"I may be headed for trouble, Ino, but at least we respect each other enough to not worry about such a stupid holiday! And you know what? I think we'd all be better off if it didn't exist!" after her little speech, Tenten marched angrily out of the café.

"Geez, who spit in her cheerios?" Sakura muttered, delicately sipping her iced tea.

Much to Tenten's displeasure, however, Valentine's Day came- and it came with a vengence unbeknownst to any lover young or old. Stores were having sale after sale for candy and chocolates and restaurants were promoting the holiday by having "Dinner for 2" deals on their menus. The air was alive with tension and love. But mostly tension.

The weapon's mistress woke up that morning, grumbling at the grey sky outside. Gai had cancelled sparring that day in order to "Celebrate the wonderful day of love in all the youth life had to offer!" Celebrate. Yeah. Whatever.

After getting ready for the day, Tenten, feeling slightly ashamed of her outburst yesterday at the café, decided to go pay Ino a visit to apologize. She entered the little flower shop gratefully, protected from the harsh gales by warmth and flowery scents. A vase of huge roses, dotted with smaller white flowers stood at the center of the counter, where Ino would usually stand.

"Hello?" Ino, hearing the door open and close, called from the back of the store.

"Hey," Tenten called out, casually, but weighed with a hint of guilt.

"Oh, hey, Ten," Ino smiled, "what brings you here?"

"I just wanted to apologize for yesterday," the weapon's mistress, looking ashamed, stared at Ino, but could not help give the beautiful red flowers a glance or two.

"Oh that? Haha don't even thing about it," Ino said dismissively. "I get pissy a lot and you never see me apologizing for it!"

_That's true… _Tenten though wryly. "Those flowers are really pretty," she said, "who are those for?"

"They're for me, silly!" Ino laughed, "Shika just had them sent in from the Sand village- aren't they beautiful?" her eyes glowed at the red beauties.

"They are," Tenten smiled, feeling a strange weight settling in at the bottom of her stomach, making it difficult for the corners of her mouth to pull up into an actual smile.

"And I guess _you _didn't get any flowers, did you, Tenten?" though she knew the comment was not meant to be obnoxious, it still came out sounding like it, which made Tenten's smile droop a little more.

"Nope," she perked up, putting on a mask she knew her friend wouldn't see through. Not after what had happened the day before. "Well, I have to go, Ino. Maybe I'll talk to you later," she smiled as she walked out the door. She had to get out of there before any part of her façade cracked. She didn't want Ino to think anything was wrong when _she _didn't even know why she was upset.

"_And I guess _you _didn't get any flowers, did you, Tenten?"_

"You_ didn't get any flowers, did you, Tenten?"_

"You _didn't get any flowers,"_

"_Didn't get any flowers,"_

That sentence. That single, stupid sentence echoed in Tenten's mind like drops of water in a dark tunnel. So what if she didn't get any flowers? It was just a stupid holiday- and they never made a big deal about it before, so why start now, right? But as they day wore on, she became more restless, the endless questions haunting her mind like the ghosts of Valentine's Day's past. Was it because they were just unromantic people? No- that couldn't be it; completely unromantic people would never go out on dates or spar with each other constantly, right? Could it have been that Neji just never thought about it? Or, a thought that darkened her already haunted mind, could it be that she just wasn't worth the effort? That she didn't mean anything to him? No, she brushed away this silly fear, but it continued to gnaw at her until she saw him later that evening.

"Hey," he said when he opened the door to see her, snowflake covered and rosy cheeked.

"Hey there," she smiled, coming into the apartment. Since Neji became a Jounin, the clan decided to give him an apartment a little farther away from the main complex, showing their immense approval of his achievements. "Happy Valentine's Day," she said, smiling jokingly on the outside, but wondering on the inside if it was just going to be another quiet Valentine's night.

"Oh, is that what everyone's making a fuss over?" Neji smirked, pulling Tenten onto the couch with him.

"Haha, guess so," the weapon's mistress laughed uneasily, "sooooooo stupid,"

"Uh huh…" Neji looked strangely at Tenten before tucking her head beneath his neck and putting an arm around her shoulders. They were both silent as he leaned in and kissed the top of her head, the smell of her shampoo surrounding his senses. His face still buried in her hair, he mumbled:

"Everything okay, Tenten? You seem… off tonight."

Off. He _would _use sparring terms to describe her mood. Tenten brushed the thought away, feeling far too sensitive about the issue. She was so tired of wondering all day if their relationship was really as dysfunctional as her friends thought it was or if they were just two people with different outlooks than the other standard couples of their peers.

"Shikamaru sent Ino roses today," she said indifferently, tucking her legs up onto the couch and snuggling in closer.

"Oh? And that's what's upsetting you, I take it?" she looked up at him, almost shocked that he knew, but decided to play it cool and ignore his assumption.

"H- what? I'm not upset," she laughed, "honestly, Neji, the ideas you get," she shook her head, still mesmerized at the fact that he had caught on so fast. "In fact, it's perfectly fine with me that we don't do anything for Valentine's Day. I mean, it's kind of become a tradition by this point, huh?" she smiled up at him, her insides a tangle of nerves.

"I suppose," he looked straight ahead, "but then if you feel so strongly about it, I shouldn't have gone through all this trouble for tonight." Something inside Tenten felt as though it had received an electric shock.

"What trouble, Neji-kun?" she looked at him curiously. He smiled devilishly and said:

"Well if it doesn't mean that much then-" and was interrupted by a slap with a couch pillow.

"Come on, dummy, show me!" Tenten laughed, both amused and curious. Had everything she thought about before been wrong?

"Well, alright," chuckling at her antics, Neji got up, leading Tenten into his room. Inside, incense- smelling candles lit, filling the room with a warm glow and a sharp, pungent fragrance. The cliché'd rose petals were littered atop his cream colored sheets and comforter and, among the rosepetals, sat plates of Tenten's favorite dishes: raspberry pancakes, gourmet peanuts dipped in chocolate, and rice balls with a heart- shaped, pickled radish center. Touched with the thought and the effort Neji had gone through, Tenten felt her eyes begin to well up, her throat aching with tears.

"Neji… you did all this for me? But… why? I thought… I thought Valentine's Day didn't mean anything to you,"

"It didn't…until yesterday evening. Hinata told me about the conversation you four had yesterday, so this year, I decided to do something special." He grinned, pulling her over to the bed as she smiled and shook her head.

"I'm going to have to thank Hinata for this one," she said, putting a piece of pancake in Neji's mouth, inserting a piece in her mouth to chew. The Jounin chuckled, now nibbling on the weapon's mistress's neck, making her sigh softly with pleasure.

"Eventually, but for now…" he continued, kissing between her jaw and her ear, pulling at her hair ties to let the brunette river run loose on her shoulders, whispering to her: "why don't we just skip to dessert?" Tenten met his sly grin with one of her own, and the couple celebrated Valentine's Day in a manner fitting to them and no one else.

A/N: Thank you to all of those who read! I apologize for any careless grammar or spelling mistakes- now if you'll excuse me, I have homework to finish *speeds off while yelling* PLEASE REVIEW! :D


	22. Day at the Beach

The sun blazed overhead, scorching the earth below. There was no wind to speak of, no cloud in sight. Nothing to save Konoha from the midday summer sun.

It was so hot.

Kunai, shuriken, small knives, and other various weapons pierced the dry, cracked earth, dust rising up from a recent collision. The sound of heavy breathing could be heard- but more importantly, it came from two sets of lungs. Yes, even Hyugas can become overheated. It was only when Tenten's knees hit the ground did Neji give in and allow them to break in the shade. But before they could gather their water bottles and head towards the nearest tree, two green- clad warriors approached them, their faces red with heat, but their smiles pinging no less than usual.

"Neji! Tenten!" the younger of the two greeted them with his enthusiastic yells "Gai- sensei had a wonderful idea!"

"Yes!" Gai shouted, equally as excited as his younger counterpart. "Neji! Tenten! It is much too hot to train out here- it isn't safe to be fighting in such conditions! Therefore, let us take this spar to…" he paused to add dramatic tension, then pointed a finger to the sky, proclaiming: "THE BEACH!"

At this, Tenten and Lee smiled widely while Neji crossed his arms and scowled.

"Really, Gai- sensei? We're really going to the beach?" the weapon's mistress's eyes sparkled with enthusiasm.

"Yosh!" He smiled at his student while Lee jumped around happily. "Everyone go home and get changed; we will meet back here in 20 minutes! And Neji- you'd do better to leave that frown at home! Ahahaha!" and with that, they bounded off.

Tenten chuckled a little and turned to Neji who looked murderous.

"Aww come on, Neji- it'll be fun," she smiled and took his hand, tugging him away from the training grounds. He shook his hand out from her grip and grabbed his backpack, tossing Tenten hers.

"I'll stay here, thanks," he said in his monotone, walking towards the Hyuga compound. The weapon's mistress strolled along with him, trying to convince him to join them on their beach trip.

"But it'll be so much cooler in the water! And it'd be a different experience to train in the ocean as opposed to dry land!" she crossed her fingers, hoping this would intrigue him enough to come along. They were silent until they got to the Hyuga compound. As Neji turned to go inside, Tenten grabbed his hand and, with her well- practiced, enormous puppy eyes, said: "Pleeeeeeeaaaaaaase?" He looked at her with a mixed look of annoyance and something more…emotional that Tenten couldn't identify.

"Fine," he said at last. Tenten smiled and let go of his hand.

"See you in a bit then!" she waved then turned and ran home. Neji stood at his doorstep a few moments longer, his hand still reaching out, still tingling from her touch.

"There you are, Neji!" Lee shouted joyfully as Neji came into view. The Hyuga was wearing long, black swim trunks and had a fluffy, white towel draped over his shoulder. He also carried with him an economy sized tube of sunscreen. Rock Lee and Gai wore matching trunks (which were green, of course), and didn't carry towels with them. Gai did, however, carry a large beach umbrella with him. Tenten wore a white, one piece bathing suit with blooming red flowers on the front. She carried with her a beach bag with sunscreen, a red towel, and a pair of sunglasses.

"Well team, let us go! TO THE BEACH!" Gai shouted loudly enough to shake birds from their roosts and fly up from the trees of the forest nearby. The four ninja ran through the forest speedily, arriving to the sea side in no time.

"Gai- sensei! This is perhaps the most beautiful idea for a sparring ground you've ever had!" Lee shouted exuberantly, tears of joy running down his face.

"Why thank you, Lee! It will be a fantastic experience to fully appreciate the power of YOUTH!" he and Lee pointed to the sky, while a wave rose and crashed behind them dramatically.

"Oh geez," Tenten murmured as she shook out her towel and set it down on the sand. Neji did the same, setting up Gai's umbrella very near to his towel. Once he had set up his shelter, he squeezed the giant tube of sunscreen and lathered himself with the stuff.

"Do you think you have enough sunscreen, Neji?" Tenten gently teased him, rubbing the white lotion over her arms and shoulders.

"Hn," was his only answer.

"Hey, get my back, would you?" Tenten held out her sunscreen to Neji who now noticed that most of her back was exposed to the sun.

"Hn," was his only reply as he took the tube and squeezed out some lotion. He had never noticed how scarred her back had become after years of training for being a kunoichi. Yet, he mused, it was very soft. So, very... soft...

"Neji? I think Gai's trying to tell us something," the weapon's mistress laughed a little and they both looked up as Gai addressed the team.

"I know I said we would come here to spar," he began, smiling mischievously "but I have changed my mind! Everyone needs to have some fun once in a while! So go on, my youthful charges! Play to your heart's content!" at this, Lee shouted excitedly:

"Gai- sensei! What a wonderful thing to give us time to enjoy this blissful day!" Gai laughed loudly.

"Why of course! We all need to take this day to enjoy our youth!"

"Sensei! Would you come play in the waves with me!" the green- trunked ninja asked.

"Of course, Lee! Let us play in the waves of youth!" they charged the water together, linked arm in arm.

"Oh my, Tenten smiled as she laid down on her towel, sunning herself.

"Aren't you going to go with them?" Neji asked tentatively, as he sat, cross-legged and huddled up under the umbrella. He saw her shrug.

"Maybe in a bit," she said, closing her eyes as she basked in the sun's rays. "Why don't _you _go join them?" She smirked as she heard him snort.

"You're kidding, right?" She laughed aloud at this.

"Alright, I guess you'll have to stay here while we all have fun," Tenten said matter-of-factly as she got up and ran to the rushing waters. Neji watched her go almost wistfully, but stayed put under the umbrella.

Over in the ocean, Lee and Tenten swam together, conversing about Neji's behavior.

"I mean, it's not like this is unusual for him," Tenten began, "but-

"He is definately acting more uptight than usual," Lee followed up in agreement. "Tenten, we must do something to get him out from under that umbrella and into the water!"

"Yeah, but what?" the weapon's mistress asked. Gai, who had snorkled up to them, interrupted with a suggestion.

Meanwhile, back at the towels...

Fine- let her go off and leave him here. He didn't want to be here anyways; he just came because...why was he here again? Hn. There they are in the ocean. Fools; they're having fun while they would benefit more from training. Hn. That wave looks very big; I could easily cut it down to to nothi- oh...Tenten just jumped over it. She looks as though she's getting cool...and wet- from the water...which is making her bathing suit cling to her...very closely...

"Neji! Oh Neji- san! Come quickly! You are needed!" Rock Lee's voice rang through the waves to Neji who shook his head and stayed put. "Please, Neji! It's Tenten! She needs your help- she left all of her weapons on the shore!" At this, the Hyuga looked up and saw Tenten swimming quickly, trying to get away from a fin chasing her in the water. Without further thought, Neji jumped up and ran towards the water and swam viciously towards his lov- um...his long- time teammate, Tenten. He used his Kaiten and, using his Kaiten, pulverized the shark that was about to take a bite out of Tenten's foot. The enormous beast flew out of the water and landed with a "SPLASH!" on the farther end of the ocean. Tenten and Lee floated in the water, their eyes wide and their mouths agape.

"Neji... you saved me from-"

"A shark that was obviously about to attack you!" Lee interrupted, "why don't you two take a break and go to shore- Gai- sensei and I can handle any more sea creatures that dare head our way!"

"Yeah...sure," Tenten said, feeling more than a little dazed. She and Neji both made their way to their towels. Neji sat calmly, not at all perturbed by what had just occurred, while Tenten flopped down onto her towel, the sand sticking to the wet spots on her legs and arms.

"That was really brave, Neji," Tenten said after a long silence. It was evening and the sun had just begun to set, creating streaks of gold, pink, and orange that hung hazily in the sky.

"Hn," was the Hyuga's ever so articulate response.

"No- really; I've never had encounters with things like sharks before. I guess I was so shocked that I didn't know what to do. But thanks to you, I have both of my feet!" She smiled, reaching down and touched her feet. Neji looked over and smirked. He wouldn't admit it, but the weapon's mistress looked very... cute with her hair falling from her usually neat buns, and water still clinging to her skin. Before he knew what he was doing- before he could stop himself, he had leaned over and began kissing Tenten, who kissed him back eagerly. When they broke apart, Tenten noticed how Neji's eyes had become softer, his mouth not set in the firm line it usually was. One might even say he had begun to smile.

Lee watched the two from his spot in the ocean and grinned, beginning to swim about some more. Gai popped his head out of the water, a shark fin attached to his back.

"Hey! What'd I miss?"

A/N: Hey everybody! Long time, no writing! I hope you guys enjoyed this one! I'm sorry if the characters are a little OOC; I didn't have much time to work on this one. Thank you all for reading and please review! It really means a lot to see your opinions. Thank you!


	23. Hair

Tenten wasn't known for being unfocused when it came to her kunoichi- that much was true. But her mind wonders, as minds are wont to do, about the most random of ideas.

Such wondering came about when she was in the middle of her usual morning routine as she brushed out her long, chocolate brown hair. It was funny, really, how much thought and effort went into her hair when it didn't aid in her fighting style at all.

Sure, she liked having long hair because she thought it looked nice, but really- what did looking nice have to do with being a ninja? Most everyone glorified the life of a ninja in battle or in training, most often picturing the beautiful ninja with the long, straight hair that blew romantically in the wind as they swung the sword onto the enemy.

Really? It was nothing like that.

The glorified pictures don't pay much attention to the sticky, hot sweat as it coats the body, making hair stick annoyingly to the face or the back of the neck. Nor does it give credit to the aching muscles, the dirt caked under fingernails, or how oily hair can get when the simple comfort of a shower becomes unavailable- sometimes for days on end.

Which is why Neji always confused her. Sure- he confused her enough on a regular basis with his constant "my pain and suffering is unique" and "training is the only way I can excel" way of living. But he also confused her greatly in his choice of hair style. One would think it would be easier to wear it up- like she did. Or to have it cut short, like Gai or Lee. Okay- maybe not exactly like Gai or Lee; that might be too weird even for her.

She just couldn't see how having hair so long and loose would be a benefit to his skills. It could even slow him down a half a second- and when running from ninja who want to kill you, a half second could mean the difference between life and death.

So that day, Tenten decided she would figure out what it was like to wear her hair the way Neji wore it. She packed her hair ties and bobby pins in her bag (in case she changed her mind later on) and headed out for the training grounds.

It was strange; she had worn her hair in their signature buns for so long it felt…nice to feel her hair swaying in the wind. She felt bolder, sexier…and kind of kick-ass, actually. She managed to walk her way down to the training grounds without strutting and was just beginning to stretch when Neji walked up to her.

"This training ground is reserved- you're going to have to leave," the Hyuga addressed his teammate with the utmost authority, a rare look of shock registering on his face for a moment when Tenten looked up at him and stuck her tongue out.

"It's me, Neji," she laughed, "and they call you a genius."

The Hyuga was severely put off by this judgment and, rolling his eyes, said: "Why is your hair down? You always wear your hair in buns- it was difficult to recognize you without them."

"Well…" began Tenten, now unsure of her plan, "I was wondering what it was like to have to fight with loose hair like you do, instead of fighting with buns all the time."

Neji grew puzzled at this. "I fight with my hair down because I'm used to it, Tenten. It's just one of the signatures of the Hyuga's to fight with long hair- as strange a tradition it may be. I don't have as much faith you'd be able to-"

"Neji Hyuga, I swear, if you say I won't be able to handle it you're going to be VERY sorry," Tenten glared at her teammate, quickly growing irritated. "And to prove it- let's start sparring right now."

"Fine," he said as he grinned and tossed his pack and got into an offensive stance. The challenge had been accepted.

Tenten dug a scroll and a few kunai from her own pack before setting it aside and assuming her own offensive stance before the two went at it Weapons flew from the weapon mistress's fingers as quickly as chakra flew from Neji's. As far as fighting with her hair down, Tenten saw an immense difference. Her long locks, usually restrained by her hair ties and multitudes of bobby pins now flew in front of her face, blocking her vision and quickly became a tangled mess. Okay…this wasn't so kick-ass and sexy anymore.

Tenten stopped and tried to tell Neji she wanted to take a quick time-out and put her hair back up in its usual buns, but her explanation was cut short by a kunai that was deflected by Neji's swirls of blue chakra.

Luckily, Tenten ducked just in time to avoid being hit. Neji stopped his attack and ran over to her.

"Are you alright?" he asked, slightly breathless.

"Yeah," the weapon's mistress replied smiling as well as gasping for breath, "it just missed me." She wiped the sweat that had gathered on her forehead and started to head for her pack, not noticing Neji's stare.

"What are you doing?" he asked her as she dug into her bag.

"Looking for my hair ties- I don't know how you fight like that. How your hair doesn't get in your face is completely beyond me," Tenten grinned as she found her ties and bobby pins, gasping in surprise when Neji suddenly took them from her.

"What the hell, Neji?" She turned to him accusingly, stunned he would do that.

"You should leave your hair the way it is," he stammered uneasily as he clutched the hair ties.

Stammering? Uneasily? Neji Hyuga neither stammers, nor is he uneasy. About anything. Ever.

"What's going on?" Tenten warily asked her teammate, now very afraid. The memory of a deflected kunai rung sharply in her mind's eye and she returned dizzyingly to the present where locks of her beautiful hair lay strewn on the training grounds. Horror struck, the weapon's mistress put a hand to her hair and discovered that it had been severed so that now it hung just above her shoulders.

"Neji…" she murmured to the Hyuga who, for all his stoic-ness looked uncomfortable. "I'm…going…to kill you!"

But before she could move, Neji held a hand up to her shortened locks, saying: "It looks nice. And it won't get in your eyes as much. You should leave it down. At least until it grows out again."

"Oh…" Tenten mumbled. Was short hair her style? Well, no, but she could give it a try. Not to mention Neji had paid her a compliment. He thought it looked nice. She smiled, her attitude brighter than before. "Okay, I'll leave it the way it is. But I'm still gonna kick your ass."

The weapon's mistress donned her weapons once more and she and the Hyuga went back to their age-old tradition of sparring, not wondering for a second how or why it worked. It worked, and that was all that mattered.

* * *

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry it's been such a long time since I've written on this fanfiction. Thanks to my dedicated readers who have kept reading my stuff as well as newfound readers for finding my stuff (seriously- I don't know how you do it). If this story isn't as up to par as it should be, I blame the lateness of the hour and the fact that I'm running on very little sleep.

Please R&R! Thank you!


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